Author: DSB
Date: 0101-01-01 00:00:00+00:00
Description: Toward Repentance of Sin and Faith in God Many try, but indeed, no one can lay their own unique foundation for Christianity, or godly living, or the way of Eternal Life because the one and only true foundation has already been laid. That foundation is Jesus Christ, revealed in the truth and life He brings us. The attempt of this book is to give explanation to that foundation in a manner which puts in plain words what we need to know to come to repentance of our sin and turn to whole-life, life-long faith in God for salvation from the power, the practice, and finally the penalty of sin. I trust

No Other Foundation

1. Prologue

2. Book 1 Chapter

One

No

Other Reason

3. Book

1 Chapter

Two Knowing

What's Right,

Doing What's Wrong.

4. Book 1 Chapter Three

The Root of Sin Is Unbelief

5. Book 1 Chapter

Four

The Lifeblood of Sin Is Pride-Driven Selfishness

6. Book 1 Chapter Five

Sin Gains Control Through Our Feelings

7. Book 1 Chapter Six

A Loving God's Just Punishment for Sin

8. Book 1 Chapter Seven

Justice and Justification

9. Book 1 Chapter Eight

Understanding

10. Book 2 Chapter One

A Place to Begin

11. Book 2 Chapter Two

Repentance

12. Book 2 Chapter Three

Faith

13. Book 2 Chapter Four

Deliverance from the Power and Practice of Sin

14. Book 2 Chapter Five

Defining the Sanctifying Process

15. Book 2 Chapter Six

The Promises of God for Sanctification

16. Book 2 Chapter Seven

The Christian's Responsibility in Sanctification

17. Book 2 Chapter Eight

God's Love

18. Book 2 Chapter

Nine

Christian Love

19. Prologue

No Other Foundation
by DSB

No one can lay any foundation
other than the one already laid,
which is Jesus Christ — 1 Corinthians 3:11

Many try, but indeed, no one can lay their own unique foundation for Christianity, or godly living, or the way of Eternal Life because the one and only true foundation has already been laid. That foundation is Jesus Christ, revealed in the truth and life He brings us. The attempt of this book is to give explanation to that foundation in a manner which puts in plain words what we need to know to come to repentance of our sin and turn to whole-life, life-long faith in God for salvation from the power, the practice, and finally the penalty of sin. I trust this effort brings you to a heart-breaking knowledge of sin, unbelief, and self-centeredness. I hope you find such wonder in God’s dealings with sin and sinners that you repent and put your faith in the goodness of God and the reliability of His Word. And may you come to know the joy of loving deeply one who loves you immeasurably.

No

Other

Foundation
Book 1
Toward

Repentance of Sin and Faith in God

Chapter

One
No

Other Reason

The mother of all sin is distrust of God. The father of all sin is self-centeredness. When we think God is either unwilling or unable to meet what we believe to be our needs or protect us from what we think is harmful, we look to the next most capable person to take charge of that task. In each of our minds, the next most capable person after God is ourselves. Therefore, when we think God is either unwilling or unable to meet our needs or protect us from harm, we take the path of self-provision and self-protection.

When distrust of God is mingled with this kind of self-interest, the natural outcome is self-centeredness. For this reason, distrust of God and self-centeredness cling to each other like a young couple deeply in love. And just as certain as death for all living things, so self-centeredness mingled with distrust of God results in sin.

Sin is any thought, attitude, choice, word, or deed which results in unnecessary harm to anyone who is in any way affected by what we think, say, or do. For example, if I steal what belongs to you, I am unnecessarily causing you harm. If as your employer I pay you in cash so the

IRS will not be able to tax this portion of your income, I am unnecessarily harming my fellow citizens who are depending on the government to provide them with goods and services paid for by taxes. Or if as your spouse I try to control you in an effort to get what I want, I am unnecessarily harming you by seeking my happiness at your expense.

In accordance with this definition of sin we can see how the coming together of distrust of God and self-centeredness motivates us to promote and protect our own interests at the expense of others. Without a doubt, our sin is not always aggressive in nature. We aren’t always punching people in the nose or verbally abusing them or talking about them behind their backs. Sometimes we sin by getting so busy or so distracted by seemingly important things or even unimportant things that we fail to do for them what we would want them to do for us should we be in their situation.

God holds us accountable for having sinned when we know the right thing to do and choose not to do it. This means we are guilty of having sinned when we make choices which in some way involves us in doing what we know is wrong, or which results in neglecting, forgetting, or getting too busy to do what we know is right.

Missionary stateswoman, Helen Roseveare, told this story on herself at a late 1980's Intervarsity Christian Fellowship Urbana missions conference.

Helen had been on the mission field four years when God began opening her eyes to the truths concerning the crucified life. He was teaching her about being crucified with Christ so that she would die to self and allow Christ to live in and through her.

Those first four years had not gone very well. She was desperately overworked. Being the only doctor for a half million people meant there was no colleague to turn to in times of crisis or overload. She had all the responsibility, and she let the weight of it weigh her down. She became quick tempered and impatient with African nationals and missionaries alike.

Fortunately, her African pastor was watching. He saw what was happening and recognized her deep spiritual need. After making the necessary arrangements, he came to her village one Friday evening and told her to pack her bags. She was to come with him to his village. She got some things together, hopped on her bicycle and followed him home. His wife, knowing she was coming, had a room all prepared for her in their home.

“When we got there,” Helen said, “he said to me, firmly but courteously, ‘You just get yourself in that room and get yourself straight with

God.’”

She spent that night, all day Saturday, Saturday night, and all day Sunday trying to get straight with God. But she got nowhere. The heavens seemed like brass. The Bible was dead. She couldn’t get through to God in any way that made any difference. By Sunday night she was so depressed, so discouraged, had such a sense of failure, and was feeling so hopeless that she went to the door of the house. Out in the courtyard her pastor was sitting with his wife.  Helen went out and sat beside them. After a long, painful silence she finally said, “Please help me!”

Her pastor looked at her and gently said, “Helen, do you know what is wrong with you? We see so much Helen we cannot see

Jesus.” He was silent for a while, then he drew a large capital

‘I’ in the dirt with his heel and spoke again. “I think you know that person, don’t you? ‘I’ dominates your life. Me, my, mine. . .everything has to revolve around you. Your program, your vision, what you want to do, how you want to do it – self is everywhere.”

As he continued to tell her what he saw, his words burned into her heart like a branding iron burns into flesh. She knew what he said was true. She was self-centered, self-seeking, self-serving. Then he seemed to change the subject.

“I notice you drink a lot of coffee.” he said. “Every time they bring you a fresh cup, you stand with it in your hands waiting for it to cool. May I suggest something? Each time they bring you a cup of coffee and you stand waiting for it to cool, pray a short prayer.” And as he tapped the

‘I’ he’d drawn on the ground with his foot, he said, “May I suggest that you pray, ‘Please God, cross out the I.’”

Why did Helen insist on me, my, mine? Why did she want people to rally around her program, and her vision? Why did it have to be what she wanted and how she wanted it done? Why didn’t she promote other people’s ideas and agendas like she promoted her own? Why was it so hard for her to see her own sin? Why wasn’t she sensitive to the unnecessary suffering she was inflicting on others? Why? She did not believe that God and His ways could adequately meet her needs in this situation. Therefore, she took matters into her own hands and became self-centered in her efforts to compensate for what she thought to be God’s failures.

It isn’t that Helen did not believe good and right things about God, for she did. However, she also believed that God and His ways were not adequate for her particular situation. Out of distrust of God and the conviction that she had to look out for her own well-being because no one else would, she took matters into her own hands. Acting on her own behalf, she tried to control her circumstances and the people around her for her own sake

– placing her interests above theirs. Please God, cross out the

‘I’.

Stan worked for an automobile company. At the time he told this story he was the project leader of a group of engineers working on the drive train of a particular vehicle. As project leader, he had to attend numerous meetings to discuss issues related to the engineering and manufacturing of the vehicle on which he was working.

A parts supplier sent a representative to one particular meeting in hopes of securing assurance the auto company would continue buying his parts. He needed this assurance because he had received notice from the

E.P.A. that he had to upgrade his plant, or be closed down. The cost to upgrade was millions of dollars – money which the supplier did not have and would have to borrow. So before borrowing such a large amount, the supplier wanted assurance the auto company would continue to buy his parts. If he could not get the assurance he sought, he would not borrow the money to make the changes.

Unknown to the supplier, the engineers on this project were unhappy with the quality of his parts. They wanted to change suppliers.

However, the manager in charge of purchasing had not yet found a supplier who could produce the quality required at the price desired. So to ensure sufficient parts for production of the vehicle until a new supplier could be found, Stan’s supervisor told the supplier to proceed with the plant upgrade.

He promised that the auto company would continue purchasing parts from the supplier.

As

Stan sat and listened to his supervisor give this assurance to the supplier, he was sure his supervisor was lying. He was certain the supervisor was vigorously seeking another supplier to provide the parts.

Yet he remained silent while the supervisor gave the supplier the assurance he needed to borrow the money and upgrade the plant.

On leaving the meeting, Stan confirmed what he believed to be true by asking another engineer if the supervisor was looking for a new supplier. The answer was yes. Knowing the severe consequences for the supplier because of the supervisor’s actions, Stan wondered what he should do. After considering his options, he asked an engineer who worked directly for the supervisor to talk to him about what he had done.

Why didn’t Stan speak up in the meeting? Why didn’t he go directly to the supervisor himself and ask him to deal honestly with the supplier? Why didn’t he go over his supervisor’s head and ask the supervisor’s boss to take corrective action on behalf of the supplier? Why didn’t he call the supplier and warn him of the impending change? Why?

Self-centeredness driven by distrust that God and His ways would adequately ensure his financial security or position in the company should he take such action.

In spite of all the right things Stan believed about God, he also believed that God and His ways were not able to ensure his financial security at that time in that situation. He chose to trust his employer

– instead of God – to provide the financial security he believed he needed as a husband and father. In trusting his employer over God and

God’s ways, Stan thought it best to protect his own job security at the expense of the supplier and the supplier’s employees. Please God, cross out the

‘I’.

Bob was raised in a home which modern psychology calls dysfunctional. His father divorced his mother and was off raising another family. His mother had to depend on ADC for the money needed to raise her family. But worse than that, Bob had been forced to move in with his older sister (a girl in her late teens with three children and a live-in boyfriend)

because his mother did not want him at home. Having all her children at home was too costly and too much bother. She wanted more spending money and free time, so she drove some of her children out. Of course, she made sure the ADC funds for each child keep coming to her home so she could have that money to use as she pleased.

A family from a local church met Bob through a neighborhood ministry to young people. Within weeks of their involvement with

Bob, they wondered what they could do to help him have a better home-life. They decided the best way to help would be to take Bob into their home. Out of respect for his mother they approached her with the idea.  She responded in anger, cursing this couple for implying that she, Bob’s mother, was in any way failing her son. She was doing the very best anyone could do given the circumstances. Who were they to criticize?

Undaunted, the couple apologized for implying she was doing anything wrong and then continued to press for permission to take

Bob into their home. After some tense discussion, she relented and gave her permission on the condition that she continue receiving the ADC checks issued to cover Bob’s expenses.

This gave a twist to taking Bob into their home which the couple had not anticipated. To agree with the mother’s stipulation meant giving their consent to lying to Social Services. They didn’t want to be a party to lying. But they didn’t want to leave Bob in this dysfunctional setting. So, they asked more questions. They discovered Bob’s mother had been lying for several years concerning several other children who, like Bob, had been living outside of her home while she got their ADC money.

A
nguished discussion over what was right in this situation filled this couple’s time for the next several days. Finally, they decided to give in to the mother’s demand in order to help

Bob find a better life and secure a better future.

How could a mother love money and free time more than her children? Why wouldn’t she want to nurture and care for her own children? Why would she risk breaking the law for a few dollars? Why?

Self-centeredness driven by distrust that God and His ways would give her the pleasures, possessions, and financial freedom she wanted.

Bob’s mother was not a Christian. But she knew right from wrong. Yet in spite of her knowledge, she was unwilling to live up to what she knew to be right because that would keep her from getting what she wanted. She did not trust God and His ways to bring her the happiness she wanted from life.

So she lied and stole, taking what did not belong to her and placing her interests above the good of her children. Please God, cross out the

‘I’.

As amazing as this may seem, one does not have to be an unbeliever, an avowed sinner, an atheist, or agnostic to distrust God and pursue self-centeredness. Many professing Christians distrust God in some area and choose to act selfishly in an effort to make up for God’s perceived inadequacies. They openly pursue their good, their happiness, and their sense of security at the expense of others. Feeling no shame for their actions, they vigorously defend themselves when caught giving their own interests priority over the good of God and the well-being of others.

And it isn’t as if they start each day with the conscious determination to act like avowed sinners. But neither do they start each day with a conscious determination to trust God implicitly and love all they encounter as they love themselves. The fact is, most Christians start each day assuming they are devout Christians who believe many good and right things about God. Yet without admitting it or even thinking about it, they carry into each day some amount of distrust of God and the practice of being at least a little self-centered to make up for God’s shortcomings. In other words, they don’t want to cross out the ‘I’, at least not completely and not yet.

As a result of our unwillingness to trust God enough to cross out the ‘I’, our society is in a mess. But worse than that, the current state of Christianity is woefully weak, self-serving, and unhealthy.

This may be hard to see because most of those who call themselves Christians believe right things about God and do many good things in the name of God. They participate in Sunday church, midweek prayer service, volunteer service in church programs,

Bible study, and personal prayer. They listen to Christian radio, and watch

Christian television programs. They read Christian literature. They openly talk about their church and its many helpful programs with their neighbors and co-workers. And, they give a portion of their income to the support of

Christian ministry – at home and around the world. Yet when it comes to crossing out the ‘I’ so as to no longer live for self but for God; when it comes to loving others as they themselves want to be loved; when it comes to the day-to-day treatment of those living in their own home; when it comes to placing the honor of God and the just treatment of others above financial security; when it comes to taking a public stand against wrong-doing, no matter who is doing it; when it comes to doing what they know is right, that is, doing everything they know is right just like they’d expect their children or employees to do everything they have been told to do; when it comes to such things as these, there are times and ways in which they are willful, intentional, deliberate, self-justifying sinners.

Therefore, like the Israelites in Isaiah’s day, many

Christians take pride in their religiousness while distrusting God so much that they willfully participate in ungodliness. And to their shame they use their religiousness to hide their ungodliness, even from themselves. (Note:

Isaiah

58:1-11)

It doesn’t have to be this way. Indeed, it ought not to be this way. Christians are to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. The life we live as Christians ought to shine in such a way that those who observe us will think highly of God because of what they see in us.

The love we Christians have for each other is to be of such a quality as to convince the people around us that we are followers of Jesus Christ.

The way we act in our own homes, the way we treat our parents or our spouse or our children, the way we do our work, the way we speak to or about our employer, the way we treat our fellow employees – all these things are to be done in a way that brings honor to God, gives credence to His Word, and keeps critics of

Christianity from having anything legitimately bad to say about us.

(Note:

Matthew 5:13-16; John 13:34-35; Titus 2:2-10)

So what are we to do? How are we to get from where we are to where we ought to be? The first step is to realize that wherever we distrust

God, we will head in the direction of self-centeredness. Just like sheep, our tendency – when we distrust God – is to go astray, that is, to turn away from

God and go our own way. Therefore, we must begin by repenting

– by changing our mind about God, the trustworthiness of God, sin, self, and all that that means about how we should live. Then, we must place our trust in the goodness of God and in the reliability of His written Word. Only when we trust God implicitly to be our savior, provider, and protector will we throw self-centeredness overboard and replace it with God’s way of love – a love that seeks to promote and protect the good of everyone affected in any way by our choices and behavior. Next, we must live up to what we know is right and what we know is wrong. We must deal with failure in a way which shows true humility, contrition, and a commitment to obvious and measurable improvement for the sake of those affected by our sinful ways. Finally, though no more or no less important, we must value relationships as God values them – seeking to establish and nurture relationships of mutual love and trust with God, first and foremost, and then everyone who is willing to join us in such efforts.

And here you might ask, where did this matter of relationships come from? Isn’t saving sinners from the penalty of sin the greatest of all God’s interests and intentions? To this we say that saving sinners from the penalty of their sin is vital, but God never intended for saved or unsaved sinners to live alone. God created us and now offers to save us for community living – for living in meaningful and mutually life-enhancing relationships with one another. In fact, mutual relationships of intimate communion and companionship – with God, in the home, and beyond – are the foundation of all that is good and worthwhile in this life. Therefore, meaningful relationships built on mutual love and trust are to be a priority – first between us and God, and then between us and our fellowmen. (Note: Mark 12:28-31)

Think about this. When we feel cared for and safe with someone, we feel loved by that person. When we feel loved, we are open to building a meaningful relationship with the one who makes us feel loved. When we don’t feel loved by someone it is because he is harming us, hurting us, alienating us, or in some way giving us the message that he cannot be trusted to look out for our happiness and well-being. Therefore, all

God’s commandments are boundaries set in place to show us how to love so we can and will live in loving relationship with one another. God confirms this great truth when He says, “Love does no wrong to its neighbor, love therefore completely fulfills the law.” (Note: Romans 13:8-10; Galatians 5:14; James 2:8)

Beyond

God’s laws, Jesus said the purpose of salvation is to personally and intimately know God, and God’s son. God validated these words spoken by Jesus in giving the life of Jesus as payment for our sin so we could be reconciled to God – a reconciliation intended to bring us into a relationship of shared communion and companionship with Him. (Note:

John 17:3;

II Corinthians 5:18-20)

According to the Bible, the Christian husband and wife, parent and child, employer and employee, and church members are to model relationships of shared communion and companionship. (Note:

I Timothy 1:5;

Ephesians 4:1-4; 5:21-6:9)

Jesus said we are to place the restoration of damaged and broken relationships above going to Church and worshiping God. He also said that if we withhold forgiveness, thus leaving a repairable relationship damaged or broken, God will withhold His forgiveness of us. (Note: Matthew

5:21-26;

6:14-15; 18:21-35)

From these words which God has given us in His Word, we see the importance He places on loving relationships – be they in the home, local church, neighborhood, workplace, or other such communities.

Therefore, we can see how distrust of God coupled with self-loving individualism works against God’s intentions for loving relationships, and therefore works against

God himself.

It is my opinion that self-loving individualism, whereby we each promote and protect our own interests first, is the current state of our society. It is also my opinion that there is far too much self-loving individualism in the Church. To me, the current condition of the universal Body of Christ is deplorable in spite of all the good that is found in it.

Something must be done.

I may not be able to do much, but I want to try to do what I can. I acknowledge that I do not know all the questions, nor do

I have all the answers. What I have is hope.

My request of you is to carefully read and think through what is written in this book. I urge you to search the Scriptures as you read to see if what this book says is true. Many passages of Scripture have been included for the purpose of directing you to God’s Word. He is our source of truth. His Spirit is the one who enlightens our minds to the truth. So

I implore you, look to Him and His Word as you read.

The farther you get into this book, the more you may think I am calling for perfection. Nothing could be farther from the truth. A loving parent does not require perfection in his children. Instead, he looks for sincere effort, an eagerness to learn, a measured and consistent growth, a right attitude toward success, a realistic way of dealing with failure, and the desire to do one’s best. These are the qualities which validate sincerity and a loving heart towards God. Therefore, doing your best and dealing properly with failure will make you as godly in this life as is humanly possible.

Let the wise read and add to their learning. Let the discerning read and gain guidance. The Lord God is our life, and His truth, when put into practice, is our joy.

No

Other

Foundation
Book

1
Toward

Repentance of Sin and

Faith in God

Chapter

Two
Knowing

What's Right,
Doing What's Wrong.

The

Contents Of This Chapter

- Doing

What’s Wrong

- What Is Sin?

- When Do We Sin?

- How Do We Know How

Much We Know?

- God's Provision for Helping Us Learn Right from Wrong

- We Pay a High

Price for Not Doing What We

Know or Should Know

- In Summary

Knowing

What’s Right, Doing What’s Wrong

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

He filled the heavens with phenomenal solar systems, planets, moons, and stars.

He covered the earth with magnificent seas and various kinds of dry land. He stocked the sea and the land with an unfathomable array of plant and animal life. Then He said, “We are going to make a man and a woman in our image, according to our likeness; and we will give them authority over all the forms of life in the water, in the air, and on the land.”

So God created a male and a female in His own image. He blessed them. Then He instructed them on how they should live in the world He had made. Included in what He told them was one instruction about eating fruit from the trees in the Garden. Adam and Eve were free to eat from any tree in the garden with the exception of one tree in the middle of the garden.

This was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Now one of God’s creations was more clever and cunning than any of the other animals that lived on the earth. This cunning creature was the serpent. One day, the serpent came to the woman whom God had made and said, “Didn't God specifically tell you not to eat fruit from the trees in the garden?” “Oh no!” the woman replied.

“We can eat fruit from every tree in the garden except from the tree that grows in the middle of the garden. God told us not to eat from that tree. We aren’t even to touch it, because if we do we will die.”

Then the serpent said,

“About that tree in the middle of the garden – you won't really die if you eat some of its fruit. God just said that to keep you away from it. He knows the fruit of that tree is able to make you very wise. In fact, if you eat some, you will know as much about good and evil as He does.”

When the woman inspected the fruit, she found that it looked more appealing than all the other fruit in the Garden. Aroused by its looks and excited by the expectation that she could know what God knew about good and evil, she took a piece and ate it. Then, she took another piece, found her husband, and gave him some to eat. As promised by the serpent, both of their minds were filled with new insight and understanding. And with this new knowledge came the realization they were naked. So they made coverings for themselves from fig leaves. That evening they heard God walking in the garden.

Knowing they had disobeyed Him by eating what He had forbidden, they hid from

Him. (Note: Genesis 3:1-8)

This well-known story about Adam and Eve tells us about the entrance of sin into the human heart and the human race. And though this story is about a onetime occurrence, its essence has been replayed billions of times all around the world since that day. Subsequent sinners have concocted many variations of the original, but the basic pattern has remained unchanged.

It begins with discontentment or disillusionment with what God has done, is doing, is allowing, or has commanded which feeds a distrust of God that promotes self-centered choices and behavior that enable us to do for ourselves what we think God cannot or will not do for us.

From this story we can discover six things about sin.

First, we discover what sin is. Second, we learn what there is in us which makes sin so appealing to us. Third, we see that the power of sin to tempt us primarily comes from what it promises to do for us. Fourth, we are shown the grim truth about what sin actually does for us. Fifth, we discover that others are adversely affected by our sin. And finally, we come to understand the necessity of punishing those who sin.

What

Is Sin?

In its simplest form, sin is knowing the right thing to do yet not doing it. According to the most commonly used Greek word in the New

Testament for sin (hamartia), sin is missing the mark – as if one were shooting an arrow at a target and missing the target. The

“mark” most likely represents the will of God or the commands of God, and missing the

“mark”

speaks of doing something other than the will of God, or disobeying the commands of God. In its purest form, sin is any thought, attitude, choice, word, or deed, or any combination thereof, which results in unnecessary harm being done to anyone who is in any way adversely affected it.

In an effort to enlarge and make this purest definition of sin clearer, consider the following three truths.

First, we are created beings made in the image of God for the purpose of willfully and cheerfully participating in relationships of intimate communion and companionship – first with God, then with all who love as God loves, and finally with all who will join us in such a relationship. In other words, we have been created to live within a community

– a community whose first and foremost member is God, whose unifying, stabilizing, protective agent is love, and whose goal is mutually shared loving relationships.

For this reason, everything we do affects God in some way, whether we are drawing near to Him or moving away from Him, trusting Him or distrusting Him, loving Him or hating Him, submitting to Him or rebelling against Him, serving Him or serving ourselves, loving others as ourselves or mistreating them in some way. Everything we do has some effect on our relationship with God. And this is true whether we are a believer in

God or an agnostic, a Christian or a non-Christian, Protestant or Catholic, Hindu or

Muslim, animist or Satanist, New Age or someone who has never heard about God.

None of us can do anything which does not in some way affect our relationship with God, and in so doing affect God, himself. Therefore, the “anyone who is in any way adversely affected,” inescapably and without exception includes

God along with whomever else is affected.

Second, sin is driven by a distrust of God which arouses our self-centeredness. It seems that from birth we are self-interested, and our self-interest is saturated with self-centeredness. Being born into a sinful world, we experience numerous disappointments, emotional hurts, and unloving people. It isn’t long before we realize our happiness and well-being are too often jeopardized by the people and circumstances we encounter each day. To make matters worse, our childhood heart-breaking hurts are either dealt us by those nearest and dearest (i.e., parents, siblings, friends, teachers), or are seemingly unexplainable (i.e., the death of a parent or favorite pet, crippling accidents, life-threatening disease). Under these circumstances our tendency is to hold responsible those we believe have the power to promote and protect our happiness and well-being. As young children, we see our parents as having the power and responsibility to provide for us and protect us. As we grow older, we add God to that list, placing him above our parents because we see Him as the most powerful being in the universe and as someone who should use his power for our good. From that point on, it seems we assume God should give us good things and keep bad things from happening to us. When we don’t have what we think we need or if bad things happen to us, we ultimately look at

God as someone who could have done better, should have done better, but didn’t.

Once we decide God has somehow failed us, we open the door to distrust of God.

Distrust of God opens the door to putting our trust in the next most powerful being who can and will look out for our well-being in a manner we desire. That next “most powerful being”

is ourselves. Upon turning from trust in God to trust in self (be it in one area or many), we step into the place of God and do for ourselves what we think God is failing

(because

He is either unwilling to unable) to do for us. However, we cannot set God and His ways aside in favor of self and our ways without also setting the good of others aside in favor of our good. In other words, distrust of

God’s ability or willingness to promote and protect our happiness and well-being in anything leads to a self-centered pursuit of self-interest in that thing or area of life. Therefore, our sin is driven by self-centeredness driven which is being driven by distrust of God.

Third, sin is sin because in some way or another it unnecessarily harms others. According to Romans 13:10, love fulfills the whole law because love works no evil or does no wrong to anyone affected in any way by what it does. This statement about love makes three important points. Number one, love never harms anyone unnecessarily (needlessly, unjustly, foolishly, carelessly). Two, living according to love is the same as living according to the commandments of God. Three, every commandment of God has as its goal the promotion and protection of the good of every individual within the community, be it a community made up of the family, neighborhood, workplace, city, state, nation, or world.

Contrary to what many of us think, the opposite of love is not hate. The opposite of love is selfishness or a self-interest which makes the interests of self a priority regardless of the effects or cost to others.

To make this point even clearer consider the following definition of love. Love is seeking the good of everyone who in any way is affected by our choices and behavior. Therefore, choosing some form of self-interest over the good of others is, in essence, seeking our good at the expense of others

– be it a deliberate or negligent choice. Choosing some form of self-interest over the good of others is also a choice to willfully disobey God’s law to love others as ourselves. Therefore, when we choose some form of selfishness or self-interest over the good of others or to the harm of others, we are unnecessarily harming all who are in some way adversely affected by our self-seeking choices and behavior. This is sin.

Everything which God labels “sin” is either an attitude, thought, desire, word, or deed which in some way unnecessarily harms others.

Yet many among us believe we can sin without harming anyone other than ourselves, and maybe not even ourselves. We support this false belief by looking at life from the perspective of the moment – looking only at the immediate or current set of circumstances making up the current situation. From this perspective it often appears as if we can commit certain sins without hurting anyone else. Yet when we look at life from the perspective of the eternal, or at least from a view which takes in the long-term effects of our current choices and behavior, the picture radically changes. The long-view brings into focus the reality that just as a stone creates an ever-expanding circle of ripples on a pond, so sin creates an ever-expanding circle of destruction. Whether done privately or publicly, as a solo act or one which includes others, all sin unnecessarily harms God first and foremost and then anyone else caught in the tentacles of its far-reaching effects.

Without exception, once sin is sown its destructive consequences will be felt in some way by more than just the one committing the sin.

It is easy to see and even harder to deny the direct impact of sin on those who had nothing to do with committing the sin.

Examples of this are murder, rape, robbery, divorce, dishonest business practices, alcoholism, drug addiction, sexual abuse of children, and physical abuse of spouses. These kinds of sins have a profound and often immediate effect on those directly harmed.

However, too many among us find it easy to deny or ignore the indirect, future, and sometimes subtle suffering caused by sin

– especially when it is our sin that is causing the suffering. Yet consider the parents or spouse of someone who is murdered or raped. The sin was not deliberately and directly committed against them, but they suffer greatly just the same.

Consider the children who are raised in alcoholic, drug addicted, or abusive homes. They grow up mimicking or over-compensating for their parents’ failures, and as a result harm their own spouse and children. Even though the sin of the alcoholic, drug addict, or abuser was not directed at their son-in-law, daughter-in-law, or grandchildren, these indirectly become suffering victims just the same. Consider the couple who get divorced. Their children suffer as a direct result of their deliberate choice, while the grandparents and other extended family members suffer as an indirect result of the divorce.

Nevertheless, those who suffer indirectly, in the future, or in subtle ways are suffering unnecessarily. This is the heinous side of sin.

But not all sin is deliberate and direct in its effects.

We negligently yet directly harm others when we are so engrossed in doing something for ourselves that we neglect to do for others what we could do and know needs to be done. The worker who is so engrossed in his work that he neglects to personally nurture his children is negligently yet directly sinning against them. The person who so focuses on establishing financial security or accumulating possessions that he overlooks the poor and needy in his own city is negligently yet directly sinning against them. Parents who spoil their children are negligently yet directly sinning against everyone harmed by their children’s self-absorbed behavior. The Christian who is so caught up in the affairs of everyday life that he neglects the work of evangelism is negligently yet directly sinning against all the unbelievers who could be affected by his witness but won’t be because of his neglect.

The Church which acts so much like the world that its light is dim and its salt lacks flavor is negligently yet directly sinning against the surrounding community which it could influence for God but doesn’t.

We may not premeditate these sins of neglect, yet the sin which results from neglect is just as much a failure to do what we know is right as when we knowingly and deliberately sin. We may not deliberately plan to harm others, but the suffering caused by neglect is just as painful as that caused by deliberate sin directed at someone. In addition, sins of neglect, carried on too long by those who know or should know better, eventually take on the look of calculated, premeditated, deliberate sin.

Finally, we can negligently and indirectly harm others with our sinfulness. Parents who do not teach their children to respect authority, or who don’t teach their children how to take responsibility for their choices and behavior are negligently and indirectly sinning against all whom their children will harm through their disrespectful, irresponsible behavior.

The man who takes pleasure in pornography is negligently and indirectly sinning against females by developing an attitude which views women as objects to be used for one’s own pleasure. His

“I-can-use-you” attitude will affect how he treats women in general, even though he may never mistreat them sexually. The father who teaches his sons that real men are macho men is negligently and indirectly sinning against any women his sons will harm through their subsequent macho behavior. The mother who keeps the home peaceful through passive acceptance of her husband’s wishes is negligently and indirectly sinning against the spouse of any of her children who follow her example. By example she will have taught her children a method of conflict resolution which does not work, for it not only leaves the conflict unresolved, it prohibits the growth of mutual love and trust between a husband and wife.

Though we are often far removed from the ones harmed, we are as responsible for our sin which negligently and indirectly harms others as we are for the sin which deliberately and directly does its damage. And if we want to be treated in just and fair ways, then we ought to be held responsible for unnecessarily, unjustly, selfishly harming others. Do we not feel wronged when someone unnecessarily, unjustly, self-centeredly harms us? Do we not want to be treated with love, respect, and fairness? We may not be offended by one’s first or second offense against us, but are we not deeply hurt when someone dear continues to mistreat us, even when it is a little thing. If we give ourselves the freedom to mistreat others for some personal gain, are we not holding a double-standard – one which condemns selfishness when we are the victims and one which applauds selfishness when we are the benefactors?

Finally, if we have the right to live by a self-serving double standard, doesn’t everyone? And if everyone does, how will the unnecessary suffering ever end?

Directly connected to the harm done by sin is the damage done to relationships. The unnecessary suffering caused by sin has a damaging and sometimes a destructive effect on whatever level of relationship did exist or could have existed between the sinner and the ones harmed by the sin. In other words, sin damages or destroys relationships – dividing nations, ruining communities, alienating co-workers, splitting churches, disrupting friendships, breaking apart families, and ending marriages.

Do not let anyone deceive you about this. When you sin, you are damaging and/or destroying what should be or could be a meaningful relationship built on mutual love and trust with someone. This is a heinous evil, because meaningful relationships built on mutual love and trust are a primary reason God created us and they provide one of the primary ingredients which ensures the good of everyone in the community – be it a community of two or a community of millions.

And just in case you still do not see the truth of all this, consider that the damage done by your sin is not limited to its effect on others. You are affected too. The sadness, distress, discouragement, despair, hate, hostility, revenge, injury, disease, perversion, calamity, and physical death which we all experience in this life is the sole result of sin

– your sin and my sin. The destructive forces set in motion by your sin turns on you and becomes a devouring force in your life. You suffer the consequences of your own sin just as certainly as others suffer because of your sin.  (Note: Galatians 6:7-8)

Once again, in its simplest form, sin is knowing the right thing to do yet not doing it. In its purest form, sin is any thought, attitude, choice, word, or deed, or any combination thereof, which results in unnecessary harm being done to anyone who is in any way adversely affected it.

May we hate sin and all of its accompanying evils just as

God hates sin. May we pray for, ponder, and pursue the kind of sight and insight that sees through the deceptions of the devil, the allurements of the world, and the desires of the flesh so that we recognize the evil of sin and the goodness, health, joy, peace with God, and inward peace of righteousness.

When Do We

Sin?

God’s definition of when we sin is very simple. We sin when we know the right thing to do yet do otherwise. This definition applies whether our sin is premeditated and deliberate, negligent and careless, or the result of living in denial and being self-deceived. It also applies when we choose some form of non-involvement so as to do nothing when we ought to do something.

When we know what is right, there are only two explanations for not doing it. We either have intentionally chosen or carelessly neglected to do what we know is right. In either case, we have chosen to do something other than what we know is right. Therefore, we sin when we know what is right yet choose to do something other than what we know is right. (Note: James 4:17)

In Adam and Eve’s case, they knew the fruit on the tree in the middle of the garden was forbidden. God had told them not to eat it, and warned that if they ate from that tree they would die. Adam and Eve knew the right thing to do. Yet they chose to do something other than what they knew was right, and in their choosing they sinned. Therefore, when we know what is right yet choose to do something other than what we know is right, God rightly holds us accountable for having sinned.

Though this definition of when we sin is straight forward and simple, it raises an important question. Who decides what is right and what is wrong?

God decides, and as the supreme being and the one who created us, it is His right to decide. However, He is not just the supreme being who created us, He is completely selfless – the only one who perfectly and faithfully seeks and secures the good of everyone who is in any way affected by anything and everything He says or does. He is profoundly wise – having wisdom and discernment based on knowing the end from beginning, the eternal from the temporal, and the truth even when obscured by convincing lies.

He is absolutely impartial – holding everyone to the same standard of right and wrong. And added to all this, He is the perfect, loving father

– gentle, patient, merciful, and sympathetic toward weaknesses while continuing to show us the way of righteousness. Without a doubt, He is the only one worthy of the responsibility to decide right from wrong.

Yet not everyone sees God this way.

Many see God as good but not completely good, as wise but not perfectly wise, as loving but not always worthy of our trust, and as faithful but not always dependable.

Some see a darker side to God. To them, He is an all-powerful being who often uses His power to punish us, to take good things away from us, or to keep good things from us or from happening to us.

In spite of what some people think,

God does not act on impulse or capriciously. He is not cavalier, or cruel. He is not an egotist, narcissistic, or vain. He is not a tyrant or a power-hungry dictator.

He does not act arbitrarily, irrationally, or selfishly. He hasn’t even a smidgen of angry impatience, arrogance, or spite. And He finds no joy in punishing wrongdoers. Why? Because God is love.

When God decides right from wrong or when God tells us what to do, it is always for our good – to make life better for us personally and for everyone effected by our choices and behavior. God sincerely cares about our good as much as He cares about His own good. He is devoted to promoting and protecting our good as if our good were His own good.

Indeed, He seeks the good of each one of us within the context of seeking the good of the larger community – be it our family of origin, our family by marriage, our extended family, our co-workers, our neighborhood, city, state, nation, continent, or our world. This means I can trust God to promote and protect your interests, but never at my expense. In the same way, you can trust God to seek my good, but never at your expense. We are, individually and as a group, perfectly safe and wholly secure in God’s decisions concerning right and wrong.

(Note: Romans 13:10; I Corinthians 13:4-8)

And beyond this, God yearns for a relationship of reciprocal love and trust with each of us. Such is the character of God

– desiring and seeking shared, meaningful, even intimate relationships built on mutual love and trust. Truly, God wants to be the loving father of a huge family. He wants to gather together a never-ending community of like-minded people drawn together by love and held together by loving relationships of intimate communion and fellowship. We see the truth of this in the fact that He has done everything possible and reasonable to show us how much He loves us and to invite us into a meaningfully intimate relationship with Himself.

Therefore, when God decides what is right He makes that decision according to love

– love which promotes and protects everyone’s good on an individual, household, community, worldwide and eternal basis.

At best, we are mixed-motived, or as the Bible says, double-minded. In other words, we can be acting out of the noble motive of love while making sure that the despicable motive of selfishness is lurking in the shadows in case we want it to take over should the way of love begin to cost us more than we are willing to pay. We can know the truth about love and all the joy it will bring to our lives and the lives of those we claim to love, yet still cherish selfishness in one or more areas of life. We can know what is right, yet for self-serving reasons choose to do what is wrong in certain situations. Truly, none of us is free enough from self-centeredness to hold the position of “the final decider” of right and wrong.

We need a guiding light that is not tainted by selfishness. We need someone who is virtuous, just, unbiased, and morally incorruptible, to tell us right from wrong. We need is

God.

A young mother came and asked for help. She wanted to work on her emotional and mental health so she could divorce her husband with the minimal amount of personal suffering. He was an emotionally and verbally cruel man who had hurt her deeply and frequently over the years. By the time she came to me she had a detailed description of his problems. She knew every possible reason why he was never going to change. She had what she believed to be bullet proof arguments why life would be much better for her and the children if she divorced him. She was convinced there was no other way to solve this problem.

I asked some questions. As I listened it became clear that she was part of the problem. Her husband was not just a cruel ogre. He had feelings and wants, and was hurting just like she was. True, he was an angry, mean man who had hurt her deeply – but partially

(though inexcusably) in response to the way she treated him.

I pointed this out. After some moments of silence, she admitted it was true. But that was not what she came for.

I pointed out that divorce hurts everyone, especially the children. I showed her the many ways her children would suffer as innocent victims, carrying their hurt into their adult life. She said she was sure she could help her children overcome those hurts and live emotionally healthy lives. I pointed out that God was against divorce because it cheapened relationships and caused unnecessary problems and pain for everyone affected.

Although she did not consider herself a Christian, she did believe divorce was wrong. Yet that was not what she came for.

She wanted relief from her pain.

She wanted out of the marriage. She knew divorce would hurt the children and the grandparents. But she was determined to do what she knew was wrong to get the relief she wanted.

I suggested alternatives that would protect her and the children and possibly save her marriage. One of my suggestions included the idea that she stop doing the things she knew were wrong and offensive to her husband and start doing some of the reasonable things she knew he wanted her to do. True, all the suggestions I offered required change on her part.

They required hard work. None of them could guarantee they would produce all the results she hoped for. None would bring immediate relief. Yet each of the suggestions were sin-free, that is, none of them would lead her into choosing a solution she knew was wrong.

I reminded her again that God forbids divorce under her circumstances, not because He wanted her to suffer but because divorce would compound her problems and unnecessarily cause deep-seated, long-lasting problems for her children, her extended family, and the community. Then

I acknowledged that sinful solutions to life’s problems most always bring some form of immediate relief, but they also cause more and greater problems for all involved.

She got mad. Even if she had wrong attitudes and self-defeating beliefs, even if she made selfish choices and did hurtful things, the wrongs she wanted to right were her husband’s wrongs, not hers. And even if she wanted to change something in herself, she did not want to wait any longer to get free of this one person who was making her life miserable. It did not matter that it meant doing what she knew was wrong. Her driving, compelling concern was her own happiness, and she had no intention of letting her husband continue to get in the way.

When you know the right thing to do, it is your responsibility to do it. To decide to do something other than what you know is right is to voluntarily, knowingly, and deliberately do what is wrong.

When you voluntarily, knowingly, and deliberately do what is wrong, you have sinned.

But what about those times when you don’t know better?

What about doing wrong unknowingly and therefore unintentionally? Is that sin, too? Yes, it is. Even though you are not knowingly and deliberately doing what is wrong, it is sin. It is sin because the effect on others is just as harmful, just as unjust, and just as unnecessary as deliberate sin.

Remember, whether done knowingly and deliberately or committed in ignorance, sin is anything which unnecessarily and/or unjustly harms another person. We unnecessarily harm others when we:

1.

directly mistreat, injure, or offend them

(do to them what we would not want them to do to us

– treat them in ways we do not want to be treated)

2.

refuse to help when it is obvious to us they need help (refuse to give them whatever it is they need to whatever extent we can give it so they can get on with life when we would want help from someone if we were in their situation)

3.

become so focused on our own interests that we overlook and neglect the needs and interests of those around us

(so self-focused that we hardly, if ever, think about the needs and interests of those around us - including those closest to us who depend on us for love, affirmation, emotional support, financial support, and a sharing of the work-load)

Therefore, all sin is heinous whether done knowingly or ignorantly. It causes unwanted problems and unnecessary suffering for all who are ill-affected in any way by the sinner’s sin. It needlessly makes life more difficult and painful for those the sinner sins against, be they family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, community, nation, or world. Sin also boomerangs on the sinner, adding to his troubles and making his life more difficult.

However,

God does not hold us responsible for sins committed in ignorance in the same way He holds us responsible for sins committed knowingly and intentionally. God made this clear in the Old

Testament when He said to Moses:

If someone sins unintentionally and subsequently becomes aware of his sin, he is to offer a one year old female goat for a sin offering.

And the priest will make atonement before the Lord for this person who has sinned unintentionally, and he shall be forgiven. But the person who is defiant and sins intentionally, that person is desecrating the Lord. Such a person shows that he despises the Word of God by willfully breaking His commandments.

This person must fully bear his guilt by being completely cut off from the people. (Note: Numbers 15:22-31)

God, through the apostle John, made this same point in the New Testament.  In

John's first letter we read:

If we admit that we willfully sinned, that we are without excuse, and that we intend to do what is right hereafter, we can depend on God to faithfully and justly forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (Note:

I John 1:9)

It is self-evident that we can only admit to having willfully sinned if we know we have willfully sinned. We cannot confess to doing something we have no knowledge of, and God doesn't expect us to.

What He expects is for us to take responsibility for the wrong we knowingly have done.

When we do, He forgives all our sin – known and unknown.

(Note: Matthew

11:20-24; Luke 12:47-48; Hebrews 10:26-29)

Now consider this matter of known sin as it relates to unbelievers. When an unbeliever responds to the Gospel, he may only be aware of participating in a few sinful practices. Yet if he takes appropriate action in dealing with the sin he is aware of, he is doing all God asks him to do about his sin at that time. This principle is shown in the story of Zaccheus.

Zaccheus, a Jewish tax collector working for the Roman occupation government, collected taxes from his own people. Somehow he heard of

Jesus’ teachings and responded by trying to see who this

Jesus was. Being too short to see over the crowd, he climbed a tree to get a glimpse of

Jesus. As

Jesus passed under the tree, he looked up and asked Zaccheus to come down and take him to his house. On their way to Zaccheus’ home,

Zaccheus acknowledged and repented of two known areas of sin in his life. The first area of sin was his desire to acquire and accumulate wealth. The second was his unscrupulous business practices. He told Jesus he would give half his possessions to the poor, and if he had cheated anyone in his tax collections he would repay them four times as much.

Now it is reasonable to assume

Zaccheus had many other sins to deal with, but that was not the important issue at the moment.

The important thing was that he seriously and aggressively dealt with the sin he was aware of. In response, Jesus proclaimed salvation had come to him that very day.  (Note: Luke

19:1-10)

The message is clear. When

Zaccheus, an unbeliever, dealt seriously with the sin he was aware of, Jesus counted him among those who believe in God unto salvation. When we admit and repent of the sin we have knowingly and deliberately committed, God forgives us and cleans us up so it is as if we are sinless – in spite of sins committed in ignorance.

Therefore, the fact of sin – the sin God asks us to take responsibility for, the sin God holds us accountable for – is determined by what we know about right and wrong. When we do other than what we know is right

– even if we are living in denial or finding some way to justify it – we are deliberately and willfully choosing to do what we know is wrong. When we do what we know is wrong, we sin.

How Do

We Know How Much We Know?

Most of us know more about right and wrong than we easily or even willingly admit. Yet in spite of our self-imposed and supposed ignorance or denials we expose how much we know when we criticize, judge, and condemn others for the wrong we see in them.

A pastor and an elder had been close friends for four years. They worked together for the good of their church. They and their families socialized together. They helped each other in times of need.

They publicly proclaimed their love for each other. Then a conflict arose between them – driving them far apart. Where once they saw each other as dear friends they began seeing each other as enemies. After two years of living in this state of hostility and alienation they asked for outside help from

Christian

Conciliation Services in resolving their differences and reconciling their relationship.

Being one of the designated

“third party conciliators” I was part of the process of reconciliation. Our first meeting consisted of sitting with each of them separately and hearing their side of the story. Each was free to say anything he wanted. The elder was the first to meet with us. He presented about eight pages of information. His presentation was about how the pastor had mistreated and wronged him, the character flaws which predisposed the pastor to this kind of sinful behavior, and the evil motives or intentions which were behind the pastor’s past and current behavior.

Near the end of his presentation, he said he had weaknesses of his own and possibly had hurt the pastor somehow. When he was done, I asked him to name one sin he had committed against the pastor over the past six years. He could think of nothing.

He could see eight pages worth of weaknesses, flaws, evil motives, and sin in the pastor, yet he saw nothing like that in himself.

I wish I could say the pastor was different, but I can’t.

He did almost the same thing. The one difference was that he had seen in the week before our meeting that his gifting and the elder’s gifting were very different. He then surmised that this difference in gifting may have caused some conflict. He felt he had tried to make the elder operate according to his

(the pastor’s) gifting. When he was finished with his presentation I asked him to name one sin he had committed against the elder over the past six years. He could think of nothing. I then directed his attention to his admission of expecting the elder to operate according to his (the pastor’s)

gifting and his relationship destructive response when the elder failed to live up to the pastor’s expectations.

The pastor remembered having realized this failing on his part. I then asked if he had gone to the elder, confessed his sin, and asked for forgiveness. He said no. I asked why. He said the elder had not opened the door for such an encounter. I asked what he meant by that. He said the elder had not made it safe for him to confess his sin and ask for forgiveness. When I pressed further as to what this meant, it turned out that the pastor had avoided seeking forgiveness for known sin because he felt the elder would see this as a weakness on the pastor’s part and use this against him. In other words, the pastor felt the elder was so evil that his own sin could be overlooked.

Two church leaders – each presenting scathing reports about the other. Yet each was blind to his own sin in the matter. Yet before

God, each was guilty of self-deception in that each one had failed to apply the same standard of judgment to himself as he had to the other. They knew how to identify sin. The problem was that they were not willing to identify sin in themselves.

The way we expect to be treated reveals how much we know about how to treat others. Every time we criticize someone for doing something wrong we reveal the extent of our knowledge about right and wrong. When we judge others as having knowingly and deliberately done what is wrong and hold them accountable for what they have done, we reveal how much we know about right and wrong and the level to which we should be held accountable for our behavior. When we condemn those who both wrong us and refuse to take responsibility for their behavior, we set the standard of accountability to which we must live. Truly, the extent of our knowledge of right and wrong is clearly shown through our criticism, judgment, and condemnation of others. Yet there is more.

Who hasn’t used the behavior of others people as justification for his own wrong behavior? Such blaming usually follows one of two formats. The first format places the blame on another person as if his behavior is the direct cause of our behavior. For example, Jimmy justified hitting his sister when he said, “But she hit me first!” The second format points to the behavior of the majority as vindication for personal behavior that is equally wrong. Jane did this when a co-worker confronted her over her extended lunch breaks. She defended herself by saying, “But everyone does it.”

Most, if not all of us have blamed our circumstances as the cause of our wrong behavior. Christine blamed her circumstances when her husband accused her of being a nag. She said,

“Don’t act so uppity and judgmental with me. If you had the day I had you would be acting far worse!”

Mike blamed his circumstances when he explained to his Bible study group why he separated his business life from his Christian life. He said,

“I tried doing business according to the teachings of the Bible, but I learned you cannot succeed when you do business that way.”

And when we run out of people or circumstances to blame, we tend to make our feelings the justification for saying or doing something that offends or hurts another person. It usually goes something like this: “What am I supposed to do, pretend everything is okay?

I’m really angry, and I’m just telling you how I feel.  I’m sorry, but that's the way it is!”

All of us at one time or another have pointed to the behavior of others, to our circumstances, and to our feelings as the driver or justification for our behavior. We act as if these things justify, and even vindicate our bad, sinful behavior. Yet who among us, after being wronged, has not felt doubly wronged when the one who wronged us excuses his behavior by placing the blame on us, others, his circumstances, or the way he feels?

When someone hurts us or mistreats us and then justifies his wrong treatment of us by putting the blame somewhere else, we don’t like it. In fact we see right through such blaming and call it what it is

– a self-justifying excuse. The double-standard here is that we are often quick to excuse our own wrong behavior yet we want those who wrong us to take responsibility for theirs. We want them to admit they knew better and should have done better. We want them to ask for forgiveness and put an end to their mistreatment of us.

We are guilty of a double standard when we excuse our behavior on the basis of other people’s behavior, circumstances, or our feelings while expecting those who wrong us to take responsibility for what they have done. And when we do this, we are holding others to a higher standard of right and wrong than we hold ourselves. When we know enough about right and wrong to hold others to such a standard it means we know enough to hold ourselves to the same standard. And when we do not live up to what we know, it means we are deliberately doing things we know are wrong.

Therefore, the extent to which we criticize, judge, and condemn others reveals a lot about how much we know about right and wrong. This makes the ‘criticism of others factor’ a universally fair basis for determining a person’s understanding of right and wrong. And when we say it is unfair or become angry when others do not hold themselves to the same standard of right and wrong that they require of us, we show our agreement with this principle.

However, in relation to sin and what we know about right and wrong, the problem is not what we expect of others or what others expect of us, the problem is what we expect of ourselves.

As the scripture says,

“To one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” Therefore, God expects us to live up to what we know, and what we know about right and wrong is undeniably revealed in our judgement of others. God affirms this when He says He will judge us according to the severity with which we judge others. (Note:

James

4:17; Romans 2:1-4; Matthew 7:1-5, 7:21-23, 13:40-43; Jeremiah 17:9-10;

Ezekiel

18:30-32; II Corinthians 5:10; Galatians 6:7-8; Revelation

20:12-15)

Beyond the criticism of others factor there is a second criterion for determining what we are rightly held accountable for in relation to what we know. This criterion is ‘age’. We find this in the story of Israel’s first encounter with the Promised Land.

After fleeing Egypt and crossing the Red Sea, the

Israelites were to follow God’s leading into the Promised

Land. As they approached the Promised Land, God directed Moses to send twelve spies into the land to help them prepare for the unknown. After spying out the land for forty days the spies returned saying the land was just as good as God had promised.

But ten of the spies went on to say the Israelites would be destroyed if they tried to move into the land. These spies said the land was filled with giants and huge fortified cities. Upon hearing this report the Israelites cursed God and Moses for leading them out of Egypt only to be destroyed in a foreign land.

Their fear of the giants and what appeared to be certain death and enslavement for the women and children prompted them to begin looking for a new leader to lead them back to Egypt. Two of the twelve spies tried to reason with the people, but the people became so angry with Moses and these two spies that they picked up stones to stone them. At this point, God intervened.

In response to the

Israelites’ distrust of His ability to bring them safely into the Promised Land (as shown by their fear of being destroyed and anger over having been put in such a dreadful situation),

God brought judgment on them. He said that everyone, twenty years old and upward who believed the bad report and distrusted God, would experience the very thing they feared. They would die in the desert. To fulfill this judgment in a natural way God made the Israelites wander in the desert for forty years, one year for every day the spies spied out the Land. (Note: Numbers 13

& 14; take special note of Numbers 14:29)

Why didn’t God hold everyone old enough to express an opinion responsible for the decision to replace Moses and return to

Egypt? Why didn’t He condemn everyone who was old enough to turn their backs on Him, take matters into their own hands, and go their own way? It is reasonable to assume that older children and teens, at least among themselves if not with the adults, discussed and debated the gravity of the situation and the best possible solution. It is likely that many teenagers, especially those sixteen and above, believed they had a good understanding of the problem and knew the right solution. It is reasonable to assume that most of them, like the adults, feared God had failed them. It is probable that many of them felt anger at God for putting them in such a hopeless situation. Yet God did not hold anyone nineteen and under responsible for siding with the majority against

Him. God only held those who were twenty years old and up responsible for their unbelief and sinful actions. Why?

God’s design of the family provides an answer to this question. The family is designed so parents, the adults in the home, have children and raise the children. God did not design the family so that children would be responsible to raise themselves, or other children, or their parents.

Therefore, parents are held accountable for what goes on in their home.

Children are to obey their parents. Obedience to parents involves a lower level of responsibility compared to the level of responsibility required of parents – the ones in authority.

God does not expect young children to think for themselves and make wise decisions. They are to do as they are told. God expects teenagers to learn how to think for themselves by submitting to and learning from those who are older and wiser. They are to begin making important decisions while living in a protected environment, free from the complexity and demands of adult responsibilities and situations. All this is preparation for adulthood, the responsibilities that go with adulthood, and accountability for how those responsibilities are handled.

Parents, because they are equipped to do so, are responsible for such complex and demanding things as discerning right from wrong for themselves and their children, education and preparation of the children for adulthood, employment, the provision of food and shelter and clothing, location of the family home, future needs of the family, and how to balance the pursuit of individual happiness with the good of the family. Therefore,

God held the Israelite adults responsible while over-looking the response of the children and young people. (Note: Deuteronomy 6:4-11; Proverbs 3:12;

22:6,15;

29:15; II Corinthians 12:14; Ephesians 6:1-4;

I Timothy 5:8)

This same principle of age and responsibility is revealed in the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus. Zacharias was a priest in the House of God at Jerusalem. He was married to Elizabeth, and they had no children because she was infertile. While fulfilling his priestly service an angel appeared to him and told him his wife would bear a son. This son was special, for he was God's chosen servant to prepare the way for Jesus.

They were to name him, John (he became John the Baptist).

After the angel told

Zacharias that he and Elizabeth would experience a miracle and have a baby,

Zacharias questioned the angel’s words by asking,

“How can I be sure that what you are saying will really happen? I am an old man and my wife is old, too.”

The angel told Zacharias that he would not be able to speak until the day the child was born because he had not believed the angel’s word.

(Note: Luke

1:5-25)

About six months later this same angel appeared to Mary, a virgin engaged to be married to Joseph. The angel told Mary that she would become pregnant and bear a son. His name was to be Jesus. Upon hearing what the angel said, the essence of what Mary said to the angel was,

“How can I become pregnant when I have no husband and I am not sexually involved with any man?” The angel told Mary that this would be a miracle baby. She would become pregnant through a miracle work of the Holy Spirit, not through intercourse with a man.

The angel went on to say that Elizabeth, Mary’s relative, was experiencing a miracle baby of her own – though under different conditions.

And after a few more words, the angel departed.

Notice any similarities in these two situations? Both

Zacharias and Mary questioned the probability of the angel’s words in light of their individual circumstances. And what were their circumstances?  Zacharias and his wife were too old to have children. Mary was a virgin and intended to stay that way until she was married. From the human perspective the probability of either of them having a child was zero. Yet Zacharias was punished for unbelief and Mary was given an explanation to help her believe. Why? Did they not both question the veracity of what the angel said? I believe so. Then, what made the difference?

I believe the age difference between Zacharias and Mary made the difference in accountability. Age made the difference between how much each one knew about God’s past dealings with Israel. Age made the difference between the extent of each one’s personal experience with

God’s faithfulness.

It was Zacharias’s job to know the Old Testament scriptures, including the history of Israel. He was aware of God’s miracle baby, Isaac, and how Abraham and Sarah had Isaac in their old age. He knew old age was not a problem for God when God wanted a special child brought into the world for special service.

Zacharias was aware of the many other recorded miracles God had performed in securing provision and protection for the nation of Israel and individual

Israelites over the years. And Zacharias had personally experienced a life time of God’s promised provision and protection. He was in a position to teach others who came to the temple and needed instruction or encouragement in this matter of trusting God. Yet he himself doubted. At his age with his knowledge and his experience he had no excuse for doubting. God held him accountable and disciplined him with the loss of his voice until the birth of his son,

John.

Mary was much younger. She was not educated in the scriptures like Zacharias. She was not a teacher of the scriptures. She was a simple, godly girl living in Nazareth, engaged to be married to a carpenter. At her age with her limited knowledge and her experience, God justly looked past her skepticism. He answered her question, without judgment, to aid her in believing.

(Note: Luke 1:26-38)

When the disciples asked who was greatest in God’s kingdom, Jesus reinforced the differences in accountability due to age.

He called a child to come stand in their midst. Then he referred to the child to make several points. One of the points he made was that it would be better for an adult to die prematurely than to entice a child to sin. In this statement we see God’s concern for the vulnerability of children who are not yet adequately prepared to understand the ramifications of choosing wrong over right.

We also see the accountability of adults who entice others to do what they know is wrong. (Note: Matthew 18:6-10)

In taking the age factor further, a study of Jesus’

ministry reveals he directed his message to adults. He talked about kingdom living in a way that only adults could understand in practical and applicable ways. The Sermon on the Mount, one of Christ’s first teachings, is a clear example of this. Neither children nor young teens can comprehend the true implication of Jesus’ words as they relate to one’s family, social, economic, occupational, and political settings. This message was directed at adults. They have the understanding necessary to be held accountable for what they heard. If you need another example, consider these words from Christ:

He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. He who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

If anyone wishes to come after me he must first deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it. Whoever loses his life for my sake shall find it. No one builds a skyscraper without first calculating the cost to see if he has enough to finish it. No one sets out to war without first comparing the quantity and quality of his troops against those of his enemy lest he set himself up for certain defeat. So therefore, no one can be my disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

These are powerful words, life giving words, words which set us free from the bondage of self, words which take us to the core of the

Christian motive for living. Yet these words require an adult mind to comprehend their profound, far-reaching implications. So why would

Christ speak to adults when his message is life-giving and essential for everyone?

The age factor. Part of growing up is gaining the knowledge and experience necessary to be held accountable for what we know. Therefore, God does not hold young people accountable like He holds adults accountable. (Note: Matthew 5:3-7:27;

Luke

14:25-33; Matthew 10:37-39; 16:24-26)

If the criticism factor were the sole basis of judgment, children should be held as accountable as adults, for without a doubt they can criticize others with passion and accuracy. Yet children are not equipped intellectually, emotionally, or experientially to be held accountable (in the same way we hold adults accountable) for the way they deal with the temptations, challenges, freedoms, privileges, and responsibilities of life. By

God's design, children are to become increasingly equipped to handle such things as they approach adulthood. But in the interim, children are not held responsible for their choices and behavior in the same way adults are held responsible.

God's

Provision for

Helping Us Learn

Right from Wrong

God has provided various means to teach us everything we need to know about right and wrong. He teaches us through creation, our conscience, our intellect, self-love, our parents, older people with experience and wisdom, history, government, the Bible, and the Church.

If we are sensible and realistic in using these means we will grow in our understanding of right and wrong. The more we understand, the more we can apply what we understand to our choices and behavior. The more we apply, the more we will understand why right is truly right and the path of life and love, and why wrong is actually wrong and the path of corruption, destruction, and death. The more we understand why right is right and wrong is wrong, the more we understand the mind, the whys, and the ways of God.

The more we understand the mind, whys, and ways of God, the more we live to love and please God. The more we live to love and please God, the more we experience a personal and intimate relationship with God and the more we will love others as we ought.  The more we love others as we ought, the more good we will do in promoting and protecting the well-being of everyone affected by our choices and behavior.

Therefore, God’s provisions for our growth in the knowledge of right and wrong are vital to our own growth in godliness, our love of God and intimacy with Him, and our love and treatment of others.

From the first moment God created it, the universe has revealed His invisible attributes, His eternal power, and His divine nature. By thoughtfully observing the heavens and the earth and all the life therein, we can discover the existence of God and gain insight into His wisdom, His love,

His faithfulness, and how He wants us to live. Because God reveals His presence, His character, and His purpose for creating us through what

He has made, everyone has the opportunity to discover His existence and gain at least a minimal knowledge of what He wants them to know. Everyone has the opportunity to ask those who are older and wiser to teach them what they have learned about

God from observing creation. Therefore, if we do not make a reasonable effort to discover what God has revealed about Himself in creation or ask those wiser for help, we are without excuse for not knowing what we could know about right and wrong had we made the effort.

(Note:

Romans 1:20)

God gifted us with a conscience and an intellect. Our conscience notifies us when we are going off the path of doing what we know is right. Our intellect gives us the ability to think, reason, conceptualize and remember.  When properly used, our conscience and intellect together enable us to learn more about right and wrong and improve the use of what we know. In fact, God’s intent is that we grow from babes and children to become like Jesus in how we think, speak, and live.

There are some who argue that to expect Christ-likeness in this matter of choices and behavior is to expect perfection, and perfection is impossible for humans. But such an argument is an effort to cover up laziness in regard to righteousness and the desire to participate in known sin.

God does not demand flawlessness of us any more than good parents demand flawlessness from their children. What God requires is exactly what we require of others: to do what we know is right, and when we choose (willfully, voluntarily, intentionally) to do otherwise, to take responsibility for doing what we know is wrong. Taking responsibility means confessing we knew better but did what was wrong anyway. It includes making things right with those we have sinned against, getting back on the path of doing what we know is right, and taking steps to strengthen our resolve to say

‘no’ to sin. This is as close to perfection as any human can get. But it is also as close to perfection as we ought to be, because we have the ability to get there.

Therefore, we are without excuse if we do not use our conscience and intellect to get this close to perfection. We are without excuse if we do not make a sincere effort to do what we know is right, and when we don’t to take full responsibility for doing what we know is wrong. We are without excuse if we do not do what we can to approach Christ-likeness in our understanding and application of right and wrong. (Note: Romans

2:11-16,

Ephesians 4:11-13)

Self-love is a very personal, practical, and proficient means of learning right from wrong. Its ability to instruct comes from its primary characteristic – knowing in the most fundamental and practical sense what is best for self. This is as it should be, for it is not self-love that is sinful but self-centeredness. Using our love of self as an instructor and primary influence on how to love others builds within us an ever improving understanding and practical application of right and wrong. The reason self-love is a good instructor is because it tells us how we want to be treated, and then we can use this knowledge in determining how to treat others.

Self-love is a powerful influence because its primary focus is our good, and we can re-direct this focus outward to determine what we must do to promote and protect the good of everyone affected in any way by our choices and behavior. And because everyone has self-love, everyone knows the difference between right and wrong based on their beliefs about how they should be treated. Therefore, if we do not thoughtfully examine how we want to be treated and then apply what we learn to how we promote and protect the good of others, we have no excuse for not doing what we know is right according to our expectations of how we want others to love us. (Note: Mark 12:31)

Our conscience, intellect, and self-love are internal resources for learning about right and wrong. God has provided external resources as well.

Children are brought into this world through parents.

Sadly, some parents are irresponsible and are such a bad influence on their children that their children learn more about wrong than right from them.

However, most parents have enough good in them to teach their children many worthwhile things about right and wrong. If we had such parents, they were a vital resource for teaching us some of what we need to know about right and wrong.

Everyone lives in a country, and every country has some form of government. Here again, not all governments are good and responsible.

Yet when a government is responsible it becomes a source for learning right from wrong. If we ignore our parents or the government so as not to take to heart the good things they have or are teaching us, we are responsible for what we could know if we listened. (Note: Ephesians 6:1-3; Romans 13:1-7)

God has given us the sacred writings of Scripture for the purpose of teaching, admonishing, correcting, and training us in the knowledge and practical application of what is right. The intended result of studying

God's Word is that we enlarge our understanding and strengthen our commitment to choose and do what is right and good. And of course, the more we study the more opportunity we have to enlarge our understanding and strengthen our commitment. But if the Bible is to teach us about right and wrong, we must read it, study it, ask God to give us insight and understanding into what we are studying, ponder and meditate on what it says so as to gain the most comprehensive understanding possible, consider how to apply what we are reading to the way we live, and then we are to put what we are learning into practice.

Of course, this cannot be done where there is no access to a Bible. But when we (people with a conscience and an intellect) have access to a Bible, we are without excuse for not knowing and applying

– according to our age and maturity – what the Bible has to teach us about right and wrong. (Note: II Timothy 3:16-17)

Along with parents, government, and the Bible, God uses the Church to teach us about right and wrong. Sadly, just as some parents and governments are irresponsible, so some church leaders and teachers are irresponsible. It is wise to be cautious, but never to the extreme of thinking that all church teachers and leaders are untrustworthy. If you want to avoid being led astray, persistently ask God to protect you and your church from falsehood. Ask God to work through your leaders and teachers to accomplish His purposes in you and your church. And do not neglect your own study of the

Scriptures to see if what you are being taught agrees with what God says.

Those who teach God's Word from a pure heart can teach us powerful, life-changing truths. They can teach us how to apply God's truth in realistic and practical ways. They can answer many of our questions and show us how to do what is right in situations where it seems there is no right or easy answer as to what we should do. Therefore, it is our responsibility to learn what they can teach us about right and wrong. If we neglect to learn what we can from those God has given to teach us, we are without excuse for not knowing what we would know if we paid attention. Ignorance resulting from negligence is no excuse for doing wrong. (Note: Ephesians 4:11-13; Hebrews 13:17)

God has provided creation, a conscience, an intellect, self-love, parents, government, the Holy Scriptures, and the Church as reasonable and accessible sources to teach us right from wrong. Having done His part we now bear the responsibility to do ours. We are responsible for growing in the knowledge of right and wrong so that we can do what we know is right.

If you keep seeking for more truth, you will find it. If you keep knocking on the doors of those who are wiser, asking questions and listening to what they say, you will learn far more than you already know. If you persist in asking God to teach you as much as it is humanely possible to know about right and wrong, He will. (Note: Matthew 7:7-8)

Are you choosing to make reasonable use of your God provided resources for growing in the knowledge of right and wrong? Are you applying what you know to what you do so that when you know to do right you do it? Are you making the same effort to learn about right and wrong as you expect from those whose choices and behavior affect you? Are you applying what you know to what you do with the same diligence you expect of others? When you do what you know is right as you expect others to do what they know is right, you fulfill your responsibility to live up to what you know.

We Pay a

High Price for Not

Doing What

We Know or Should Know

No one who has repented, trusted in the saving work of

Jesus Christ, been reconciled to God, and puts his faith in God for daily living (become a Christian) repeatedly does what he knows is wrong.

Rather, out of the fear of God, love for God, and wanting to please

God, he resists the devil, flees youthful lusts, abhors what is evil, clings to what is good, and pursues righteousness, faith, love and peace with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. And as for the practice of known sin, he runs from it as if it were a hungry lion looking for dinner. He knows that the only goal of sin is to maim, destroy, and ultimately kill whereas the way of God is the path of life – life that is abundant. Besides, he cannot practice any known sin because God is in him. (Note: James 4:7-10 ; John 10:10; Romans

8:12-13, 12:9;

2 Timothy 2:21; 1 John 3:9; 5:18; Galatians 5:24)

The scripture tells us that everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. We know that Jesus appeared in order to take away sins. No one who abides in Jesus continues in the practice of any known sin. No one who continues in the practice of sin has seen

Jesus or knows Him. Therefore, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Jesus is righteous. The one who practices sin is of the devil – for the devil has sinned from the beginning.

The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

Therefore, no one who is born of God practices sin, because

God’s seed (God’s life, God’s son) abides in him. In other words, he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. This is the high price of continuing to do what we know is wrong. (Note: 1 John 3:4-10)

This doesn’t mean it’s impossible for Christians to knowingly, deliberately, and voluntarily sin. What it means is that

Christians, having repented of sin, ought no longer to be of the mind to want to sin. They no longer look at sin as beneficial, helpful, or wise because they now see how vile, ravaging, self-destroying, and relationship damaging it is

– no matter how much pleasure, profit, power, or fame is gained from sinning.

Therefore, they purpose in their heart to no longer allow sin to be an established practice or defended habit. They rely on the provision and presence of

God to enable them to do the will of God. If they sin, they respond in a responsible way as soon as they come to their senses. This means confessing their sin to

God, making any wrongs right with whomever they have hurt, reaffirming their commitment to live a righteous and loving life, and taking whatever steps necessary to get back on the track of promoting and protecting the good of everyone affected in any way by their choices and behavior.

Though sin is entirely selfish, it is also rebellion against God and the good God wills for all mankind. Since Christians no longer have to sin (Note: Romans 6), when they so sin they are willfully rebelling against God and unnecessarily harming others. Therefore, the only reasonable, rational punishment for an ongoing life of self-centeredness is eternal banishment from God and all who love as God loves. Because doing what we know is right promotes and protects the good of everyone affected by it, including us, the reward of love is to live forever with God and all who love as

God loves.

Self-centeredness brings death. Love which seeks the good of everyone brings life. Therefore, if we use the resources God makes available to us and depend on the work of His Spirit within us to put to death our selfishness, we will live. (Note: Romans 8:6-8,13)

Do not be lulled into thinking you can get away with willfully doing what you know is wrong. To go your own way in deliberate disregard of what you know is right is like laughing in God’s face. It is the ultimate show of disrespect for God and His love for all mankind. For the sake of everyone whose well-being is jeopardized by your selfish choices and sinful behavior, God cannot allow you to continue unchallenged doing what you know is wrong. To discourage selfishness and sin, and encourage godliness and love, God has so designed life that whatever you sow you reap. If you know what is right yet continue to willfully do what is wrong, you will reap corruption

(the slow process of self-destruction). It may take many years for the sown seeds to yield their crop, but just as rust destroys metal so sin destroys sinners. In the end, nothing of worth is left. This is the high price of continuing to do what you know is wrong. However, if you make it your practice to do what is right, you will reap eternal life. (Note: Galatians 6:7-8)

Not everyone who calls Jesus,

‘Lord,’ or considers themselves to be a born-again Christian will live forever with God.

Only those who faithfully do what they know is right will live with Him forever.

Many will say to Jesus on the judgment day, “Lord, how can you turn us away?  Check your notes!

You will see that we prophesied in your name, we cast out demons in your name, we did miracles in your name, we taught Sunday School in your name, we witnessed to family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers in your name, and we served as Deacons and Elders in your name.” Then Jesus will say to them, “I know you did wonderful things in my name, but at no time did I recognize you as belonging to me. You never repented of sin. You never took seriously your responsibility to become like Me in the knowledge and practical application of right and wrong. You have always acted as if sin was a good choice in spite knowing it was the wrong choice. You thought you knew more about what was best for you than I did. You only obeyed Me when you thought that what you got out of it was more than what you had to put into it. Therefore, I must banish you from

God’s presence because all those years when you told yourself you were following me, you were really following your own selfish inclinations and fleshly desires. True, you turned away from certain sins, especially those you deemed heinous. But generally, you only forsook sin when it was convenient, or when it wasn’t too costly, or when it served some selfish purpose. In all your years you never turned away from selfishness. You never treated me as your

Lord. You never stopped deliberately and repeatedly doing what you knew was wrong. The reality is, you never loved Me supremely or your neighbor as yourself.”

This is the high price of continuing to do what you know is wrong.

(Note:

Matthew 7:21-23)

In Summary

Sin is any thought, attitude, choice, word, or deed, or any combination thereof, which results in unnecessary harm being done to anyone who is in any way adversely affected it. The opposite of sin is love, for love does no wrong to anyone. Therefore, love fulfills all the requirements of God.

(Note: Romans 13:10)

Sin is an offense to God, not because He arbitrarily decided to hate sin, or because He likes to play the dictator whose followers must obey His every command – be it a capricious or necessary command. Sin is an offense to God because it needlessly and unjustly harms other people

– people He loves. It is an offense because it damages and destroys mutual relationships of communion and companionship – the purpose for which God created us. Therefore, God says that if you know the right thing to do yet do what is wrong, you have sinned.

You are accountable to God for what you know to be right just as you hold others accountable to do what they know is right

– especially when their wrong behavior adversely affects you.

The extent to which you criticize others reveals the extent to which you know right from wrong. Therefore, your criticism of others further clarifies the extent to which you are rightly held accountable to do what you know is right.

God has provided sufficient means for you to gain an accurate understanding of right and wrong. You bear the responsibility to make good use of these means so you can continue to improve and mature in your love for others.

Are you living according to the knowledge you have? Are you purposefully seeking to increase your knowledge of right and wrong so you can grow in godliness? Is there something you are doing that you know is wrong? Is there something you are not doing that you know you should be doing? Are you promoting and protecting mutual relationships of communion and companionship? Do you love God enough to say no to everything which harms Him and harms even one of those whom He loves?

No Other

Foundation
Book 1
Toward Repentance of Sin and Faith in God

Chapter Three
The Root of Sin Is Unbelief

The

Contents Of This Chapter

- The Root of Sin Is

Unbelief

- A Story of Unbelief

- The Problem of

Unbelief

- The Problem with

Partial Unbelief

- In Summary

The Root of Sin Is Unbelief

What motivates us to sin? When we know the right thing to do, why do we do what is wrong? When we know how much we hate being taken advantage of, manipulated, intimidated, wrongly accused, verbally or physically abused, gossiped about, ridiculed, or rejected, why do we treat others in these ways?

When history documents that sin unleashes deadly consequences which boomerang on the sinner and victimize all who are affected by it, why do we deliberately do what we know is wrong? When research continues to document the harmful effects of sin on the human body, relationships, the family, the community, the economy, the government, and the environment, why is it our preferred choice in so many situations? When common sense tells us that God is hurt by our sin just as we would be hurt if our spouse committed adultery, why are we so insensitive to Him in our eagerness to sin?

The most compelling motive for doing what we know is wrong comes from a self-centered concern for our interests or well-being merged with distrust of God.

In the

Christian vernacular, distrust of God is more commonly called unbelief.

To distrust means to have no confidence in, to be suspicious of, to doubt the trustworthiness of, to be skeptical. In relation to God, distrust evidences itself in willfully deliberate distrust of God’s goodness and reliability of

His Word.

When we speak of the goodness of God, we are referring to His ability and willingness to always act in a manner that promotes and/or protects our good. When we speak of the reliability of God’s Word, we are referring to the

Bible’s ability to rationally and practically instruct us on how to live a happy and fulfilling life. Therefore, unbelief in God and His Word is based on the conviction that neither God nor His Word can be completely trusted to do us enough good or give us the right kind of instruction to make life as happy, safe, secure, and satisfying as we want it to be.

Self-centeredness is an excessive or exclusive concern with self that results in seeking our own good at the expense of others. It is doing what we believe is best for ourselves in spite of the unjust and harmful affects our self-serving actions have on others. Self-centeredness is built on the premise that personal health, happiness, prosperity, power, possessions, popularity, and security are more important than the rights and well-being of others.

Therefore, the self-centered person pursues what he wants and protects himself from what he doesn’t want in ways that either intentionally or neglectfully inflict unnecessary pain or loss on everyone affected in any way by his selfishness.

Consider this line of reasoning. When we do not trust God and His Word to satisfactorily meet our needs, satisfy our desires, or solve our problems as we want them solved, we do the only thing that seems sensible – we take matters into our own hands, decide what is best for us, and then do for ourselves what we are convinced God either will not or cannot do for us.

Therefore, the underlying motive for sin is an excessive or exclusive concern for our own good coupled with distrust (the belief that God and His ways cannot be completely trusted to promote or protect our good). In other words, we sin when we think we must act in our own self-interest to do for ourselves what it seems

God and His Word cannot be trusted to do for us.

The first sin provides a clear picture of this cycle. Eve, out of a concern for her own good began doubting that God was giving her all that was rightfully hers to have.

Believing He was unfairly withholding knowledge which could make her life better than it was, she took matters into her own hands and acted in her own self-interest. But by taking what she wanted (eating the fruit)

she was not only doing what she knew was wrong, she was ignoring the direct effect of her selfishness on her husband and any future generations. Her focus was solely self-centered and her action self-serving. Clearly, the direct result of her concern for her own good fueled by distrust of God was a selfish, and therefore sinful, act.

Now consider the sin of Jonah, a prophet of God. He was told by God to warn the people of Nineveh that judgment was coming. Because of their excessive sinfulness God was threatening to destroy them. But Jonah did not go to Nineveh. He went in the opposite direction. He didn’t go to Nineveh because he knew

God leaned toward mercy, and if Nineveh heeded the warning and repented, God wouldn’t destroy them. Jonah wanted Nineveh destroyed. He believed they deserved annihilation.

So he got on a boat for Tarshish. During the voyage God caused a great storm to arise. To lighten the ship and save the lives of everyone on board, the sailors threw the cargo overboard.

Whose cargo was it? Did people suffer as a result of its loss? Was it fair for those who owned the cargo to suffer such a loss? Was it not one man, Jonah, who in distrusting God’s goodness (thought God to be unwisely merciful), acted selfishly and caused others to suffer unjustly? Did Jonah show loving concern for the good of others when he chose to do what served his interests?

Such is the way of sin. When a concern for one’s own interest is fueled by distrust of

God, we turn to sinful solutions to solve our need or satisfy our desire - every time.

(Note:

Jonah 1-3)

Therefore, the

Scriptures teach that without faith in God it is impossible to please

Him. But what kind of faith must we have to please God? Faith in His existence?

Yes, but that alone is not enough. Even Satan believes God exists.  The faith we must have to please God is trust in His goodness and in the reliability of His Word to the degree that we forsake self-centeredness and place our lives and the lives of those dearest to us in God’s hands for His safe-keeping while devoting ourselves to the task of deliberately (thoughtfully so as to know what we are doing and why we are doing it), courageously (facing danger, fears, and the unforeseen with confidence that God will take care of us), dauntlessly (without giving in to intimidation or discouragement), and cheerfully (willingly and whole-heartedly), living as He says to live.

When we distrust God and His Word, whatever the area of life or the particular situation may be, we resort to our own self-serving ways to ensure our good.

But we cannot selfishly promote or protect our own good without sacrificing the good of others. We cannot sacrifice the good of others without causing them to needlessly and unjustly suffer in some way. Causing others to needlessly and unjustly suffer for selfish purposes breaks God’s heart, because He loves them as much as He loves us. So, like any good parent, God is displeased with any child who selfishly and deliberately brings unnecessary pain and suffering into the lives of the other family members.

Therefore, to please God, we must believe that He exists. Then, we must trust in

His ability and readiness to be our faithful provider and loving protector so that we willingly and cheerfully place our well-being in His hands. Finally, we must trust enough in what He says about how to live to be convinced it is not only intelligent, but rational and therefore perfectly safe to do the will and works of God (i.e., abandoning sin, evangelizing the lost, devoting ourselves to loving all who are affected in any way by our choices and behavior in the same manner and to the same degree that we want to be loved).  (Note: Hebrews 11:6)

A Story of Unbelief

The

Israelites saw the awesomeness of God’s power in the ten plagues He brought on Egypt to convince Pharaoh to free the Jews. They saw the depth of

God’s compassion when

He rescued them from slavery in Egypt. They saw the timeliness of

God’s provision when He parted the Red Sea so they could cross it on foot to escape the Egyptian army. And, they saw the faithfulness of God’s protection when He destroyed the Egyptian army in the waters of the Red Sea.

These experiences inspired the Israelites to trust in the goodness of God and the reliability of His word. Because of their trust, they believed His promise of a new homeland and agreed to obey His commands on how to live. Filled with confidence in God, they worshiped Him and sang songs of praise to His name.

Yet after a time they grew bored with what God had given them and dissatisfied with what He was doing for them. The promised homeland no longer excited them, and what He had done in the past no longer inspired them. They began thinking that the very things they didn’t have were the things they now needed to feel happy and satisfied. In their discontent they became self-centered, looking for happiness and fulfillment in ways and places they knew were wrong.

Now it is important to know that after rescuing the Israelites from the land of

Egypt,

God subsequently destroyed those who returned to unbelief. Why, after going through all the effort to rescue them, did He destroy those who quit trusting

Him? Because unchecked unbelief turns every Promised Land into a wasteland of selfishness where sin is glorified, righteousness vilified, relationships damaged or broken, and people victimized. Therefore, God’s love for each

Israelite compelled Him to destroy those who did not believe. (For a short history read: Psalm 106; Jude 5)

The Problem of Unbelief

When we believe our interests are at risk and at the same time believe God can’t be trusted to promote or protect those interests, we choose the way of selfishness. To whatever degree we selfishly promote or protect the good of self, to that degree we carry out our self-centeredness at the expense of others. To whatever degree we deliberately seek our good at the expense of others, to that degree we say and do things we know are wrong. When we do things we know are wrong, we have sinned.

Think about this. When we do not trust the most powerful being in the universe to do what is best for us, we trust in the only other person reliable enough to deserve our trust. And that person is self. When we don’t trust God, we take matters into our own hands and do what we think is best for ourselves. Our thinking follows this line of reasoning. When the most powerful being in the universe can’t be trusted to guarantee happiness and security, we must resort to other means and depend on other forces to ensure our happiness and well-being. Given the fickleness of human nature, there are not many people we can depend on and no one we can depend on all the time. Therefore, the only trustworthy substitute for an untrustworthy God is self.

However, distrust of God goes hand-in-hand with distrust of His Word. When we distrust

God, we replace reliance on how He says to live with reliance on what we think is best. Our thinking follows this line of reasoning. If the one who tells us how to live is untrustworthy, then certainly what he has to say about how to live is equally unreliable. Since no one else is perfectly selfless, no one else can be trusted to always tell us what is best for us. We are the only ones who can accurately see what is best for us. We are the only ones who can accurately decide how we must live to promote and protect what we believe is best for us. Therefore, the only trustworthy substitute for

God’s untrustworthy directions on how to live is self-determination – deciding for ourselves what is right and wrong so our lives are as happy and satisfying as we think they ought to be.

But there is an inherent problem to self-reliance and self-rule. We cannot distrust

God and seriously question the reliability of His Word without also rejecting love as the ruling principle over all we do and say.

God’s only way of dealing with us is the way of love (promoting and protecting the good of everyone affected in any way by whatever He says or does).

God’s only demand of us is that we live by this same standard. To turn from trust in God and His Word is to turn from this way of loving which promotes and protects the good of everyone affected in any way by whatever we do or say. This leaves only one other ruling principle by which to live, and that principle is selfishness.

Therefore, to turn to self-reliance and self-rule is to turn to promoting and protecting the good of self without equal concern for the good of others. The only possible result of this is selfishness. Selfishness always leads to sin, and sin is heinous because of its inherent destructiveness to the sinner and everyone adversely affected by the sin the sinner has committed.

But

God’s way of love doesn’t mean we cannot be interested in the good of self. It means that our interest in our own good is always restrained and balanced by our interest in the good of others. Love restrains self-interest by keeping it from thinking its interests are superior to the interests and needs of others. In this way we are able to see that the interests and needs of others are at least equal to our own if not more important than our own. Love balances self-interest by keeping it sensitive to seeking the good of self in a manner which simultaneously promotes and protects the good of anyone affected by what it does for self.  (Note:

Philippians 2:3-4)

Now we can go one step farther, for love is not confined to promoting and protecting the good of everyone – including self.

We can sacrifice something precious (possessions, health, or life itself) to seek the good of others. Though this is not a requirement of love, it is a recognized gift of love. Jesus demonstrated this gift-giving when he voluntarily paid the penalty for our sins in dying on the cross.

Soldiers do this when they sacrifice their bodies and even their lives to save fellow soldiers. Fathers and mothers have done this when trying to save their family from impending disaster (fire, flood, storms, roving gangs).

Though most often done for those we hold dear, love has the capacity and freedom to sacrifice the good of self to ensure the good of others. (Note:

Philippians

2:5-8)

However, our nature is such that we are easily tempted to choose the good of self over the good of others. Add to this our tendency to distrust God and to question the reasonableness of what He says about how to live, and self-centeredness becomes our priority. From there we eagerly and deliberately seek the good of self at the expense of others.

We like the selfish way because most often it is the only direct, expedient way to get what we want when we want it. It is for this very reason that Satan has crafted sin to have the appearance of being able to produce immediate gratification for our wants and fast-acting solutions for our needs. And, he has pasted an eye-catching label on every sin – a label which boldly proclaims that this sin will provide the shortest route to personal happiness (be it pleasure, popularity, prosperity, possessions, power, privacy, or protection).

Being self-centered, we eagerly turn to sin to satisfy our self-interest.

Yet the promise of sin is really a lie. Sin promises true happiness on demand, but it gives cheap imitations which can at best gratify our self-interest for the moment. Sin’s benefits, even when accumulated, only produce a hollow, temporary shell of the good life. So to gain the happiness and satisfaction we seek, we must turn to sin again and again. This brings a form of happiness, but it also compounds our problems – creating more unhappiness. Satan won’t tell you this, but for all its fast acting, self-gratifying benefits, sin always makes more problems and therefore more unhappiness for us sinners. Whatever problems we are trying to solve by sinning, we will have more because we’ve sinned.

Truly, sin is like a miniature sugar-coated time bomb. We want the sugar coating because its sweetness gratifies some need in our life. So we swirl the time bomb in our mouth, savoring every last bit of sweetness until it’s gone.

Then we swallow.

Now we may get lucky, which means the bomb won’t explode for several months or even years. (But then, maybe we’re not so lucky if the bomb doesn’t explode right away because that allows us to think we can swirl more miniature sugar-coated time bombs without fear of the consequences.)  Yet more often than not, the bomb explodes within minutes, hours, days, or weeks of swallowing – wreaking havoc in our lives and in the lives of everyone affected by its explosion.

Looking at sin from this perspective makes it seem stupid to swirl any more miniature sugar-coated time bombs.  But we will.

Even though we can see the lie in sin’s false advertising, our yearning for the sugar-coating prompts us to abandon common sense and sin anyway. In our selfishness we ignore reality. In our concern with getting what we want or with protecting ourselves from what we don’t want we ignore the fact that once they are swallowed the bombs will explode and there is nothing we can do to stop the explosion or stem the damage. Oh, we’ll try.

In fact, swirling more miniature sugar-coated time bombs is our favorite method of trying to stop imminent explosions or repairing the damage of previous explosions - which is a testimony to our commitment to foolish, irrational thinking and self-deception.

So why are we so self-destructive? Why are we so willing to harm others, including those we claim to love and hold dear? Unbelief merged with self-centeredness!

Concern for our own well-being coupled with distrust of God (afraid He won’t or can’t do what we think must be done) is the underlying motive for sin.

Truly, unbelief is the root of sin and all our foolish interest in it. To live according to the standard of love, to make love the ruling principle over our words and deeds, we must trust in the goodness of God and in the reliability of

His Word. For this reason, God says that those who are righteous are righteous because they live by faith. (Note: Titus 1:15-16; Hebrews 3:12-19,

10:35-39;

Romans 1:16-17)

The Problem with Partial Unbelief

Does unbelief in the goodness of God and the reliability of His Word result in a completely godless life?  Sometimes it does, but most often it doesn’t. Most people have some belief in a divine being and in a divine code of ethics and morality. Many people obey some of

God’s commands because they believe it is best. Many turn to God in difficult, trying circumstances because they believe He is able to help. Their condition is not one of total distrust, but partial unbelief. This partial unbelief is a common malady among those who consider themselves Christians. It was also a problem in

Israel after the Israelites entered the Promised Land.

Before entering the Promised Land the Israelites promised to do all that God commanded. They made this promise because they trusted Him to be the only provider and protector they needed. However, after living in the

Promised Land awhile, they grew dissatisfied with God’s provision and protection. As their dissatisfaction grew, their distrust grew. They became convinced God either could not or would not do for them what they believed needed doing to have a happy, satisfying life. To get the happiness and satisfaction they believed they deserved, they took matters into their own hands and began acting in their own self-interest. In other words, they chose to become self-centered and resort to sinful means to do for themselves what they believed God couldn’t be trusted to do for them.

Did the

Israelites distrust God completely? No. Did they break all

God’s laws? No. Were they selfish all the time? No. They continued to seek God’s help and ask for

His direction in the life of the nation. They faithfully participated in the worship services held at the temple. In regard to their sin, they fulfilled

God’s requirements for the sacrifice of animals and ceremonial cleansing. They kept God’s dietary requirements, refusing to eat blood or the meat of any animal He declared unclean. They paid their tithes and offerings to the

Temple in Jerusalem. Yet at the same time they were deliberately, and of their own free will, doing things they knew were wrong to compensate for what they thought God wouldn’t or couldn’t do for them. Thus, their unbelief and resulting disobedience became a stench in God’s nostrils. (Note: Exodus

19:8, 24:3-8;

Isaiah 1:2-20)

But that seems unfair. Why should their partial unbelief be a stench to God when they were doing so much good? They worshiped God with singing and musical instruments, with dancing and raised hands, with fervency and feeling.

Doesn’t this prove their love for Him? They trusted in God alone for the forgiveness of sin. Isn’t this what God wants? They were devoted to prayer and to asking God for

His leading in their lives. What more could God ask of them? They faithfully read the Scriptures and attended all religious meetings. Doesn’t this prove their sincerity? They never came before God without either being neatly dressed or wearing sackcloth and ashes. Isn’t this the kind of respect and humility God requires? How could distrusting God in a few areas be so bad when they seemed to trust and obeyed God in so many important areas? (Note: Isaiah

58:1-12)

There are three reasons why partial unbelief in the goodness of God and the reliability of His Word is a stench in God’s nostrils.

First, unbelief is distrust whether it is partial or complete. If unbelief is complete, we completely reject God and His ways. If unbelief is partial, we selectively reject God and His ways. The important truth to understand is that any amount of distrust in God and His Word results in the same action – rejecting God’s way, taking matters into our own hands, and acting on our own behalf without loving regard for the good of others. This means others will be unjustly hurt by our selfishness. And whether we hurt a few sometimes or many all the time, we are deliberately and unnecessarily hurting others to further our own interests. For this reason, unbelief is not an issue of degrees, but results. Therefore, the stench of unbelief which offends the nostrils of God comes from the unloving, self-serving, destructive results of unbelief.

Second, any amount of distrust of what we know to be true about God and His Word results in our deliberately doing what we know is wrong. Unbelief held in ignorance is not a worrisome issue to God. This doesn’t mean that

He’s not grieved over our distrust and the its hurtful effects on others. But He knows that if we are committed to pursuing godliness in all our behavior, we will search and monitor every area of our life for any distrust so we can confess it, repent of it, and get on with trusting Him in that area, too. Therefore, partial unbelief is not the horrendous problem it is because of sins committed in ignorance by well-meaning people. Partial unbelief is the problem it is because we compensate for our distrust of God by deliberately and often repeatedly looking out for our interests at the expense of others. In other words, unbelief leads to mistreating or simply failing to love those around us. This is sin, selfish, unloving, heinous, and inhumane. Therefore, willfully doing what we know is wrong at the expense of others because we don’t completely trust our completely trustworthy God is a stench which offends God’s nostrils.

Third, partial unbelief in what we know to be true about the goodness of God and the reliability of His Word too often hides behind the lies of self-deception.

Self-deception is the worst form of deception because it is self-induced. We deceive ourselves for the purpose of substituting what we know to be true for the lies we want to believe as true. We lie to ourselves about our selfish choices and behavior so we can think of ourselves as good, well-meaning people when in fact we are seeking our own good at the expense of others. Yet as long as we maintain the lie, we feel good about practicing our sin. As long as we tell ourselves we are good, well-meaning people who are doing the best with what we have, we feel no guilt when selfishly doing what makes life better for us and worse for others. Truly, the worst part of partial unbelief is that we deny its existence and its effects on others through self-deception.

Thus partial unbelief is an offensive stench to God’s nostrils.

To make clearer why self-deception is so evil, consider its three primary forms. 1)

Blocking selected information or experiences from our thinking,

2) Choosing to think and act in ways that cushion the blows of unwanted pain or loss, and 3) Creating elaborate, well defended justifications for doing what we know is wrong. What follows is an explanation of these three forms of self-deception.

(1)

Some of us deceive ourselves by blocking selected information or experiences from our thinking. In essence, we believe there are certain realities about God, His

Word, ourselves, others, the past, and the future that are too difficult or painful to face and live with. So to protect ourselves from what these difficult or painful realities stir up in us, we block them from our thinking as if they don't exist.

Mary grew up in a deeply religious home. It was happy and peaceful until she was twelve years old. Then, open and escalating conflict broke out between her parents.

The conflict was cyclical – same issues over and over without resolution. Mary felt the pain of her parents’ verbal battles – battles which were saturated with put-downs and threats. She felt helpless as she watched the disintegration of her once peaceful, seemingly happy family. She felt betrayed by the two people she’d always depended on to love her more than anyone loved her. But her strongest feelings – feelings of resentment and anger

– were directed at her father. His outbursts of anger seemed to keep the conflict boiling, repeatedly causing pain for everyone. She hated the bad feelings so much that she determined to keep her marriage free from conflict – and she did.

After getting married, she worked to build godly truths into her relationship with her husband and children. Those outside the home thought of her as the almost perfect wife. But her husband, though deeply in love with her and appreciative of most things she did, was frustrated and hurt. Why? Because Mary would not deal with the conflict that existed between them. To fulfill her goal of a no-conflict-no-pain home she blocked the things from her thinking that caused conflict. And she used this blocking method to deceive herself into believing her marriage was conflict-free. While this prevented her from facing and dealing with her part in the conflicts, it made it possible for her to keep a safe distance between herself and the bad feelings she felt as a child.

For

Mary, self-deception was a source of security and happiness. For her husband, it was a source of pain. He felt the pain of unresolved, recurring conflict and the resulting shallow relationship. He felt the sting of knowing his wife consistently chose what was good for her over what was best for them.

Every unresolved conflict forced him to face the reality that she loved herself more than she loved him, at least in that area of their relationship.

Yet it wasn’t that

Mary didn’t care at all.

She dutifully listened to his complaints and his pleas for working out their differences in mutually satisfying ways. She would admit that the reason she wasn’t co-operating was because of her blocking. She understood that her blocking hurt her husband and their relationship. She understood enough about blocking to counsel others about how they were blocking and how destructive it was to their relationships. But she continued to use blocking as her preferred way of keeping the unwanted pain of her childhood home out of her current home.

Why would a

Bible reading, church attending, praying Christian refuse to do what she knew she should do to improve her marriage? She was afraid. She was afraid that if she accepted the reality of conflict in her marriage she would have to live with constant tension, arguments, harsh words, and recurring pain. She was afraid that conflict would leave her just as vulnerable and powerless to make things right in her present home as she had been in her childhood home.

She was afraid to trust God to show her how to resolve the differences with her husband because she didn’t believe God would protect her from the devastating pain of conflict. After all, when she was a child, she had trusted the most important people in her life – her parents – and they miserably failed her. And she held the unspoken opinion that even God failed her. So to insulate herself from what she feared, she blocked. She deceived herself. She acted as if what was wasn’t so she could believe that what wasn’t was.

Her story is not unusual. Her fear is not uncommon. Everyone who selectively trusts

God (partial unbelief) deceives themselves in some way.

(2)

Some of us use self-deception to convince ourselves that the best way to deal with emotional pain and mental anguish is to cushion their blows with some form of pleasure or diversion that dulls the pain or makes us forget the anguish.

When we do this, we are acting as if quick relief and momentary happiness are better than lasting relief and true happiness. However, we cannot pursue such immediate, fast-acting solutions without choosing self over God and selfishness over love. Therefore, though we may momentarily dull our senses and gain some pleasure and happiness, yet gain these things at the price of mistreating others, damaging relationships, possibly abusing our body, and reinforcing our distrust of God. And why would we follow such a foolish path? We deceive ourselves into believing that this is the better way, and besides, we deserve some pleasure and happiness.

Charlie and

Karen are husband and wife. They’ve attended Church and called themselves

Christians for a number of years. They were happy at first, but now they live in constant pain. Both want a congenial, peaceful relationship, but they are about as far from it as the earth is from the sun. He is passive and believes the way to a good relationship is through pleasing and appeasing, leniency and soft words. She is aggressive and believes they need to tell it like it is, express how they feel, and work things out even if it means fighting it out. He feels crushed and unloved by her aggressiveness because it comes across as abusive and manipulative rather than endearing and relationship building. She feels ignored and unloved by his passiveness because it comes across as avoidance and withdrawal rather than facing the issues and resolving their differences.

They know what their problem is because they’ve been to marriage counseling.

They just aren’t willing to solve their problem God’s way – through repentance and forgiveness, gentleness and patience, and a persistent pursuit of godliness – because neither one believes God’s way will really work in their situation.

The truth is, each has been hurt by the other for so long, and neither is willing trust God enough to take the steps required to change until the other person begins changing.

So, they cushion the painful blows they inflict on each other by looking for happiness in other places. Charlie finds acceptance and feelings of pleasure by being involved in group sports. Karen soothes her pain by getting involved in projects where she can control the outcome. She felt especially euphoric during the building and decorating of their new home. Yet neither his sports nor her projects bring lasting solutions to their relationship problems. Though his sports and her projects provide momentary relief by diverting their attention from the real issues, they also prolong the suffering and increase the distance between them. In spite of this, they continue deceiving themselves by believing that cushioning the pain is the most sensible way to get the happiness they want in spite of their unhappy relationship. Their self-deception is the result of their partial unbelief in God’s goodness and

God’s Word.

(3)

Some of us use self-deception to create elaborate, well defended justifications for doing what we know is wrong. Blame is a favorite way to defend and justify selfish and harmful choices and behavior. We blame God. We blame our parents.

We blame our spouse. We blame brothers and sisters, friends and teachers, the boss, co-workers, neighbors, people we do business with, or anyone else who can be blamed as the cause of our behavior.

We blame people’s actions or lack of action as the reason for our behavior in response to them. If our responding behavior is selfish and harmful, we defend it as justifiable on the basis of being forced into such a response because of what they did or didn't do to us first. We deceive ourselves so well that we believe we aren’t really returning evil for evil when we mistreat someone who has done something evil to us, we’re just doing what is necessary to survive.

King

Saul was told by God to totally destroy the Amalekites: men, women, children, oxen, sheep, camels, and donkeys. But Saul and his army spared Agag, the king of

Amalek, and the best of the sheep, oxen, and lambs, and whatever else seemed valuable. When the prophet Samuel confronted Saul concerning his disobedience to God, Saul defended himself. First, he blamed the army. He essentially said,

“I didn't take anything, they did, so don’t talk to me, talk to them.” Then

Samuel reminded Saul that he was the King. He had the power to stop the army from taking the spoils of war. Again, Saul justified himself. He said he had done what God asked him to do. He went to war and destroyed the

Amalekites except for Agag, the king. He didn’t take any spoils, but the army did, and they would sacrifice them to God on the alter at Gilgal.

Now this is a classic example of self-deception. By shifting the blame, King Saul deceived himself into believing he had done nothing wrong. He compounded his self-deception by telling himself that if any wrong had been committed it was either too small to worry about (he had spared the life of only one man), or it could be made right by giving the proceeds from the wrong done to

God – as a gift. (Note: I Samuel 15:1-31)

John was convinced his boss was a jerk. In his own words he said, “I have no respect for a man who bullies people and puts them down.”

Having been subjected to this abuse for some time, John now feels justified in showing open disrespect for his boss. When we discussed this way of treating his boss, I said he was being as sinful as his boss. John got offended. He was convinced it was only logical to strike back when struck if you wanted to put an end to being struck. I agreed it was appropriate to take action in an effort to stop abuse. But I told him that when we try to stop being abused by returning evil for evil we are committing sin just as much as the one abusing us is committing sin, and therefore we are no better than the one abusing us. John didn’t see it that way. In his way of thinking he was doing what had to be done because his boss was so unreasonable.

“After all,”

John said, “it’s my boss who’s the jerk, not me. I’m only trying to stop him from mistreating me. If he were not so unreasonable, I wouldn’t have to do what

I’m doing. So, talk to him, not me.”

Another way we often justify doing what we know is wrong is to give as many reasons as possible why doing what we know is right will not work in our situation. We deceive ourselves into believing that God’s way of handling certain people or situations is unrealistic and impractical because it leaves us vulnerable to mistreatment. We want a fast-acting method that’s easy to use and guarantees results. Since God’s way of love rarely fits this description, we justify the use of selfish and worldly methods to get the results we want. This self-deception is based on the premise that if God’s way does not do what we think needs to be done, then it is permissible to do what we know will work even though we know it is wrong.

Mark is angry.

Peggy has not been the wife he believes she should be. Mark is right, because

Peg is a do-as-she-pleases, uncooperative, stubborn, critical, blame everything on Mark kind of wife. Having put up with this abuse for several years

Mark decided that God’s way of speaking the truth in love and remaining kind in the face of unkindness was not working. He decided the only way to deal with Peggy was to return tit for tat. Now he is secretive, uncooperative, critical, and openly hostile. He knows his newly chosen methods are wrong, but he justifies himself on the basis of having no other choice because God’s

‘love’ method has not worked.

Think about this. Charlie and Karen, King Saul, John, and Mark, are basically good people.

With the exception of King Saul, they each would consider themselves to be New

Testament Christians with strong religious beliefs. So why did they deliberately do what they knew was wrong? Unbelief. Complete unbelief?

No, partial unbelief. But because any unbelief results in selfishly sinful behavior, their partial unbelief resulted in selfishly sinful behavior.

Remember the

Israelites? They worshiped God, read the Scriptures, prayed, feasted on feast days and fasted on fast days, gave their tithes and offerings, and faithfully offered the required sacrifice for sin. Without question, they were serious about their religion. But they were equally serious about distrusting

God and

His Word in some selected areas. And they remained in their state of partial unbelief through the use of self-deception. They blocked from their minds the fact that they were knowingly and willingly choosing self-centeredness over

God’s way of love when dealing with certain people and certain situations.

Now don’t think the Israelites were completely bad. They were very religious, and they did many admirable and virtuous things. They just did not think it was wise to love their neighbor as themselves in every situation. They unquestionably believed in the existence of God. They just were not willing to put complete trust in the goodness of God. They were confident God gave them the

Scriptures.

They just did not believe that everything God said about how to live was realistic, practical, or applicable, given their circumstances. They believed, but their belief was partial belief, not complete and unequivocal trust.

Because of unbelief they became self-focused and selfish. They misused and abused people for selfish ends while deceiving themselves into believing they were God-fearing, God-pleasing, reasonably good people living out their religious convictions.

Like the

Israelites of old, many modern Christians claim to believe in God, yet they do not trust Him to always do what is best for them. Neither do they trust

His

Word to prescribe the best way to behave in all situations. And the proof of their partial distrust is in their actions – in doing what they know is wrong to promote and protect their own interests.

Allen works for a large, international company. In just ten years he has gone from a ground level engineer to a fourth level management position. He has always been conscientious and responsible. He has always given his employer a full days work. As a manager, he does his best to make decisions and treat his co-workers according to his Christian beliefs. What he doesn’t do is treat his workplace as his mission field. Yet all around him, people are living in sin and headed for hell. He believes it is wrong to take work time and use it for evangelism time. So do I, because it would be a dishonest use of our employer’s time and money. After all, he wasn’t hired to evangelize lost souls in his workplace. He was hired to make his company profitable. So what’s wrong with what he is doing?

Allen is a

Christian. He has gladly accepted God’s free gift of forgiveness for the debt he owes on his own sin (eternal banishment in hell).

He has served on the Mission Board at his church, doing his part to encourage others to see evangelism as a ‘must’ and to get actively involved on a daily basis. He knows that his city and the surrounding suburbs are filled with lost souls destined for eternal damnation. He knows there are billions of people around the world in this same sin-sick condition. And he knows that the right thing is to do his part in telling unbelievers about God’s gift and their need to repent and trust in Jesus Christ for God’s gift of life.

But what is he doing? He is working to prosper a company where he cannot witness effectively and where he spends so much time (60+ hours per week)

that he has no time after work to be active in regular, affective witnessing. But isn’t this the normal Christian life? No, it is not the normal Christian life.

Sadly, however, it is the all too common one.

Allen is highly skilled. He could get a job someplace else or begin his own business so evangelism could be a significant activity on the job and/or off the job. Yet he chooses to stay on a job that severely limits his evangelistic efforts both in the workplace and out of the workplace. And why does he choose this?

For

God’s benefit? No. For the good of those around him who are going on in their sin? No. For the good of his family? Yes, for he believes his job, not

God, is their source of financial security. For the good of himself? Absolutely

– for he gets his sense of self-worth from the praise he gets at work. And does he get up each morning honestly facing his unbelief and resulting self-centeredness? No!

In Summary

There is nothing good to be said for any amount of unbelief or distrust toward the goodness of God and the reliability of His Word. All unbelief, be it partial or complete, merges with self-centeredness and produces sin. And the reason this is so heinous is that sin is the cruel, heartless destroyer of all that is good.

To distrust

God’s goodness is to decide that God is not good, or that He is good only some of the time. It is to doubt God’s intentions, His integrity,

His justness, His dependability, and His love.

When we distrust God, we no longer think of Him as wanting to do what is best for us in every situation. And we especially distrust God’s goodness when we are convinced He can prevent bad things from happening to us, but doesn’t.

When we distrust any part of God’s Word, we won’t allow it to be the final authority on how we should live. Instead, we take over that position of authority

– deciding what we think is best for ourselves. And we justify our decisions by claiming that the parts of God’s Word we distrust are irrelevant or unrealistic in relation to the difficult people and circumstances we have to deal with.

Distrust requires prior knowledge about something that can and ought to be trusted. We cannot distrust what we do not know about God or His Word. We can only distrust what we know to be true. Therefore, distrust concerning the goodness of

God and the reliability of God’s Word means we have enough knowledge about God and His word to put complete trust in them. For this reason, unbelief is a voluntary choice. In other words, we deliberately choose not to trust in the character of

God and the validity of His Word.

No one distrusts God and His Word without replacing godly love and righteousness for selfishness and sin. In other words, we go from promoting and protecting the good of all to seeking the good of self at the expense of others.

Therefore, do not let anyone deceive you. The one who consistently does what he knows is right is righteous, just as God is righteous. The one who willingly, deliberately, and repeatedly does what he knows is wrong is of the devil. Jesus came to earth for this purpose, to destroy the practice of sin

(willingly, deliberately, repeatedly doing what we know is wrong). No one who is born of

God practices sin, because the life of God dwells in him (I John

3:7-9).

Is there known, defended, and protected unbelief in your life? Do you trust in

God completely to provide your needs, satisfy your desires, protect you from harm, and be your security? Or, are there areas where you believe you must take matters into your own hands and act in your own self-interest? Do you rely on

God’s Word as the best source for direction on how to live and solutions to life’s problems? Or, do you feel the need to part ways with

God’s Word and decide for yourself what is right and wrong in certain situation?

Do you see how this matter of distrust promotes selfishness and sin? Do you understand why we will not, indeed cannot, live a godly life ruled by love without faith in God? For the sake of everyone affected by anything you do, including God, wholly trust in God and wholly rely on His Word.

No

Other Foundation
Book 1
Toward Repentance of Sin and Faith in God

Chapter

Four
The Lifeblood of Sin Is Pride-Driven Selfishness

The

Contents Of This Chapter

- The Lifeblood of

Sin Is Pride-Driven Selfishness

- More Examples of

Pride-Driven Selfishness

- Why Distrust of

God Leads to Pride-Driven Selfishness

- A Further

Definition of Pride-Driven Selfishness

- The Appeal of the

Good Life

- The Appeal of

Immediate Gratification

- The Denial of

Selfishness

- How To Discover Selfishness in

Yourself

- In Summary

The Lifeblood of Sin Is Selfishness

Though unbelief in the goodness of God and the reliability of God’s

Word is the root of sin, pride-driven selfishness is its sustaining lifeblood.

We are prone to distrust God when we think He is not giving us all the things we need to live a happy, satisfying, secure life. We are even more prone to distrust Him when we believe He is allowing bad things to happen to us – either by not stopping them from happening or by not correcting them in a timely manner. We deal with our disappointments and frustrations by concluding we know better than God what is best for us.

This is pride.

Upon concluding we know better than God what is best for us, we begin moving away from God and rejecting at least some of what the Bible says about how to live. From there, we take matters into our own hands and begin working things out according to what we believe best serves our interests, satisfies our desires, meets our needs, and makes us happy.

This is pride-driven selfishness, and it always leads to sin.

Therefore, though distrust of God is the root of sin, pride-driven selfishness is the lifeblood of sin. For example, it is the pride of thinking we know more than God about what is best for us that leads to believing that selfishness – at least in some situations

– is better than love and that sin is better than godliness.

Choosing selfishness doesn’t mean we don’t know the difference between right and wrong. It means we are unwilling to think in terms of right and wrong because such thinking might get in the way of what we want or believe we need.

In the same way, choosing selfishness doesn’t mean we don’t know the difference between love and selfishness, for we prove what we know by how we respond to those who selfishly hurt us or make our lives more difficult. However, when love gets in the way of what we want, we treat it as impractical or unrealistic given the circumstances and turn to selfishness because we can bend it to our wishes.

Consider how this truth played out in Adam and Eve’s first experience with sin. First, they stopped trusting God to provide them with all they needed to have a happy, satisfying, secure life. Second, they assumed they knew better than God about what was best for them. Third, they stopped thinking about right and wrong in relation to loving everyone who might be affected by their choices and behavior. Fourth, they began rationalizing and justifying the reasonableness of doing what they knew was wrong. In fact, they went too far in their prideful, selfish thinking that they concluded the best thing to do was to do what God had told them would kill them.

And what was the result of their sin? We have all suffered immeasurably and unnecessarily. We’ve lost the perfect life in the perfect environment where a face-to-face relationship with God was a daily occurrence. We suffer the burden of hard and sometimes fruitless work to survive. Women endure pain in childbirth. We face the challenges of nature and the destructiveness of natural disasters. Our bodies are attacked by injuries, diseases, illnesses, and infirmities. Our minds are affected by evil thoughts, fears, discouragement, depression, and insanity. We grow old, only to suffer the ailments and disabilities of old age. We die, and often it is not a pleasant death. In other words, we live under the influence, the power, and the destructive consequences of sin because of their choice to sin.

Adam and Eve choose self-gratification over the interests of God, the welfare of their children, and the future well-being of all mankind. But, you may ask, why not? If the most powerful being in the universe cannot be trusted to promote or protect our good, should we not take matters into our own hands and do what we think is best for ourselves?

Never!!

No one can distrust God and take matters into his own hands to seek his own good without turning from humility to pride and from that which is true love to that which is truly selfish.

The reality is, in whatever way or area of life you distrust God, in that way or area you will assume you know more than

God and you will become self-centered in order to do for yourself what you believe God can’t or won’t do for you. In doing for yourself what you believe God can’t or won’t do for you, you will make the good of self your priority and allow the good of others to become a lesser concern. Therefore, you will neglect or jeopardize the good of others through your efforts to promote and protect your own interests. This is pride-driven selfishness – which is the lifeblood of sin.

Though unbelief in the goodness of God and the reliability of God’s

Word is the root of sin, selfishness is its sustaining lifeblood.

More Examples of Pride-Driven Selfishness

After forty years of wandering in the desert, Israel was finally ready to enter the Promised Land. The first obstacle facing them was

Jericho – a huge, walled, fortress-like city. Lacking a well-trained army and the weapons to defeat such a city, Israel needed a miracle. Joshua,

Israel’s leader, went to God. God told Joshua to have the Israelites march around

Jericho once a day for six days. On the seventh day they were to march around the city seven times. After the seventh time, seven priests were to blow one long blast on their trumpets. When the trumpets sounded the Israelites were to give forth a great shout, and the walls of Jericho would fall down.

When the Israelites had marched around Jericho the seventh time on the seventh day, Joshua reminded them that Jericho and all that was in it belonged to the Lord. Every inhabitant of the city was to be destroyed, except Rahab and those who lived with her. All the gold, silver, bronze, and iron were to be turned over to the treasury of the Lord.

Everything else was to be left behind. Joshua warned them that if anyone disobeyed and took anything for themselves, it would bring God’s punishment on the whole camp of Israel. Then the priests blew their trumpets, the people shouted, the walls of Jericho fell flat, and the Israelites took the city.

In taking the city the Israelites discovered great wealth, but they followed God’s directions and turned it in to the treasury of the Lord, with one exception. Achan, an Israelite soldier, kept a beautiful robe, five pounds of silver, and 1 1/4 pounds of gold for himself. He had heard the warning. He knew that the consequences would mean trouble for all of

Israel. But thinking he could hide his sin, and in so doing outsmart

God, he chose to improve his financial situation at the risk of jeopardizing the well-being of every other Israelite.

God’s punishment on Israel for Achan’s sin was the withdrawal of His power and protection in battle. As a result, they were sent running in retreat in their next attempt at overthrowing a city, and thirty-six soldiers lost their lives. Upon finding out whose sin had brought this punishment from God on Israel, they put Achan and his entire family to death.

(Note: Joshua 6:15-7:26)

This may seem unnecessarily harsh since Achan didn’t take very much. And it wasn’t as if he committed murder or adultery. He was simply trying to improve his financial situation so he could get a good start in a new homeland. What is so bad about that? Why would God make such a big deal out of such a seemingly small sin? To get a clearer picture of the size of

Achan’s sin, consider its effect on others.

First, successful sinners influence others to sin. Israel needed God’s power and protection as they settled their new homeland. And, they needed His provision and protection to live there in peace the rest of their lives. God gives His power, provision, and protection to the righteous

– those who live according to the ways of godliness and love. He withholds it from the unrighteous, because He does not want to encourage pride and selfishness by rewarding them or making it safe for sinners to go on in their pride and self-centeredness. If Achan could sin and get away with it within two weeks of entering the Promised Land, how long would it be before other

Israelites followed his example? And who would suffer the most yet deserve that suffering the least when God withdrew His power, provision, and protection? The children and grandchildren. Therefore, because sin influences others to sin and thus increases the destructive effects of sin, Achan’s sin was humongous.

Second, sin always starts small, but grows to devastating proportions. Achan took what belonged to God when he took the robe, silver, and gold from Jericho. It may not have been much, but it reflects his attitude toward God and his fellowmen – an attitude which is arrogantly self-centered. A person steals because he believes the gratification of his needs or wants are more important than the happiness and well-being of the one he is stealing from. A person steals because he believes his needs or wants give him the right to take that which belongs to another. A person steals because he believes it is better for the one stolen from to unjustly suffer loss than for him to endure the unpleasantness of doing without something he needs or wants.

Therefore, if

Achan would think so little of God as to steal from Him, what would stop him from stealing from his fellow Israelites? And though he stole a small amount this time, wouldn’t the fact that he profited and got away with it prompt him to steal more the next time, and the next time, and the next time?

Because stealing from God reveals a contemptuous, arrogantly self-centered attitude toward all humanity, and because sin grows, all Israel was faced with a growing threat to their well-being. Therefore, Achan’s sin was humongous.

Third, sin always victimizes one or more people who had nothing to do with the sin. Thirty-six Israeli soldiers unjustly and unnecessarily lost their lives. They were not given a choice in the matter, they were victims of Achan’s sin. But the cost to others did not stop there.

Among these thirty-six men were husbands, fathers, and first-born sons.

This means the families who lost these men lost someone they loved and who was vital to their well-being. Again, these families were not given a choice in the matter. These families were left in a saddened, crippled condition

– not because of some wrong or foolish thing they had done, but because of

Achan’s sin. Therefore, from the victim’s viewpoint,

Achan’s sin was humongous.

Pride and selfishness, though socially acceptable in many instances and seemingly insignificant in many situations, are a devastating curse which causes incalculable and often irreparable harm to victim and sinner alike.

Tanya wanted to be loved because it made her feel so good. To satisfy her want she developed a relationship with Steven, a fellow who wanted to be loved, too. Their relationship grew from joking and superficial conversation to sharing deeply personal things. They went from casual friendship to believing they were meant for each other. Tanya and Steven had finally found someone with whom they felt safe and comfortable; someone who made them feel special and sought after; someone who made them feel really good.

But

Tanya and Steven were married – and not to each other. They brushed aside this fact as they pursued love and intimacy with each other. They ignored the fact that they were on a course that would cause their spouses, children, and extended family needless pain. They overlooked the fact that they claimed to be Christians and that their actions would bring shame on the name of God and His church. What they didn’t neglect was their desire to feel good. In their quest, they went so far as to became sexually involved with each other. In time, their affair became public knowledge.

Tanya and Steven were not children, or even young adults.

Both were old enough to know better even though they didn’t do better. However, both criticized their spouses for not loving them the way they wanted to be loved. Both clearly stated how they wanted to be loved and what their spouses needed to change in order to give love them that way. In other words, they were able to identify selfish behavior in others and the consequences of that selfish behavior on them – which proves they had a good idea of right and wrong in a marriage relationship. Yet both of them selfishly pursued their own gratification without concern for the unnecessary and unjust damage they would do to their spouses, their families, their Church, and to the name of

God.

You may think Tanya and Steven are horrible sinners – and they are. You probably feel certain you would never do such a thing yourself – and maybe you wouldn’t. Yet they are no worse than the rest of us. Why? Because the same distrust of God and pride-driven selfishness motivates some of our choices and behavior. Like them, there are situations and times when we think we know more than God about what is best for us, and because we do, we choose selfishness over the good of others, needlessly hurting them in the process.

Peg grew up in a Christian home, and for the most part had a good childhood. She married, had four children, and continued to attend

Church with some regularity. She said she believed in God, loved her children, and wanted to love her husband – but he was not so easy to love. He kept asking her to do things – like care about him, parent the children better, be more responsible with household duties, and show as much interest in the good of their family as she did in her crafts and her friends.

After years of making the same requests and seeing almost no progress, he felt deeply discouraged and genuinely unloved. In frustration and hurt he turned mean around the house and began looking for love and happiness outside the home. Yet Peg continued to live what appeared to be a naive, blind to reality, it’s not my fault, he’s the bad guy, kind of life. She clearly saw his faults (and he had many), but she would not look at her own. She wanted him to change, but she would not take seriously her need to change. She knew what was right when it came to his treatment of her but she would not honestly examine her behavior to see if she was doing what was right when it came to her treatment of him. The truth is, Peg was as much the cause of suffering in their home as her husband.

Why would such a seemingly nice person like Peg, who was liked by her friends and pitied by all who heard her side of the story, continue to do so much damage to her marriage and family? Because Peg hated conflict, discord, facing personal faults and failures, or any other thing that might make her look bad and result in disapproval and rejection. She wanted to feel accepted and loved by all, all the time. If she had to overlook the truth about herself, she did. If she could avoid dealing with conflicts in an effort to resolve them, she did. If she had to explain away some of her choices and behaviors or deny doing anything wrong by claiming to have had good intentions, she did – and all in an effort to ensure being accepted and loved. Yet sadly, her efforts to keep as many people as possible happy with her resulted in hurting her husband and damaging their relationship.

Peg was prideful, selfish, and self-deceived. She was as prideful and selfish as any of the others in the preceding examples, for she was as willing as they to think she knew better than God, push Him and

His ways aside, and go her own way for the sake of personal happiness. But then, is Peg that much different than the rest of us?

Why Distrust of God Leads to

Selfishness

The opposite of selfishness is love. Selfishness seeks the good of self to the neglect of or at the expense of the good of others.

Love seeks the good of everyone affected in any way by its choices and behavior. And should the good of others require it, love will promote or protect their good to the point of sacrificing its own good, even if it means losing its life.

Selfishness believes we must make our own happiness and well-being a priority in order to get the happiness, satisfaction, riches, security, and recognition we deserve in life. Love believes we must make the good of God and the well-being of others a priority so everyone, including us, can get the things we all deserve in life.

Selfishness is based on the premise that we must look out for our own good, first and foremost, because no one else seems willing or able to do it in the way it needs to be done, and we know what is best for us better than anyone else. Love is based on the premise that it is perfectly safe to make the good of others equal to or greater than the good of self, because

God, who is greater than ourselves, is devoted to promoting and protecting our good, and God knows what is best for us better than anyone else. .

This is an important point. It is our nature to love only as far as we can ensure the good of self, according to our ideas of what the good of self is. If we are to love others as much as ourselves, we need someone wiser and greater than ourselves to ensure our good so we can unselfishly promote and protect the good of others. Therefore, to love others as ourselves we must be convinced that God has sufficient power, wisdom, ability, and the commitment to look out for our good. Then, we must be convinced that

God is using and will use His power, wisdom, and ability to promote and protect our good in every situation – even when we put our own well-being at risk in doing good for others. Finally, we must act on our faith by placing ourselves in

God’s hands as we make the good of others equal to or greater than the good of self.

Because

God’s love is unwaveringly perfect, because His power is infinite, because His wisdom is unchallengeable, and His father’s heart unequaled, He is the one being who naturally has what it takes to be our provider and protector. Because He guarantees we can never seek the good of others at a cost to self greater than what He will cover, we are free to love without fear for our own well-being. Truly, we can never out-love

God’s love for us. We can never out-give God’s giving to us. Whatever it costs us to love others, God replenishes, and then some. Therefore, we are free to love others without fear of what such a denial of self might cost because God

’s provision and protection is sufficient to cover any cost incurred.

Selfishness comes to life when we assume God is unwilling or unable to cover the costs of loving others in the same way we want to be loved. This means our good becomes the deciding factor when determining how far we will go in loving others. In other words, distrust of God brings us to the conviction that we must depend on selfishness, at least in some situations, in order to have the happy, satisfying, secure life we want and believe we deserve. Therefore, when we are distrustfully self-centered and we think the good of self is at risk, we willfully turn from the noble life-style of love to the more expedient life-style of self-centeredness.

Further

Definition of Pride-Driven Selfishness

To better understand what selfishness is, it is important to understand what it isn’t. We are not selfish when we want food, clothing, shelter, good health, education, transportation, or any other thing needful and beneficial for living a full and satisfying life. We are not selfish if we desire to satisfy our natural appetites, passions, and impulses. We are not selfish when we want to be loved and accepted. We are not selfish when we want a loving, happy family, a safe neighborhood, a good community in which to raise children, and a nation where the people are free to do what is right.

We are not selfish when we desire to have employment which pays a livable wage. We are not selfish if we want to avoid unnecessary and unjust frustration, hardship, injury, pain, or physical need. We are not selfish if we desire to be happy.

All these wants and desires are a normal part of the human life. It is not selfish to want to satisfy them.

However, if in seeking to satisfy a normal desire we disregard the good of God and/or harm others in some way, we turn a normal desire into a selfish desire.

For example, the desire for food is a normal desire given to us by God for our good. The purpose of food is to strengthen our body. The pleasure of taste is an added bonus, making a necessary task an enjoyable task.

If we over-eat for the pleasure of eating so that we grow fat while others go hungry, we turn something good into something selfish. We go from satisfying our appetite to gratifying our taste buds. We also turn something good into something selfish when we use the pleasure of eating to ease the pain of bad experiences, distance us from our sorrow, and avoid dealing with our depression. In such cases, we turn from responsibly dealing with the difficulties of life to trying to off-set or compensate for our problems through mind-numbing pleasure.

The desire for security is as normal as the desire for food. True security is found in God and comes from God. His intention is for us to make Him our first and foremost source of security so that we do not resort to excessive, self-centered, fear-driven, irrational, and relationship-damaging solutions when feeling insecure from real or imagined threats to our present or future well-being.

If we make a secure job with good benefits with an established company our first and foremost source of financial security, we turn something good into something selfish. Seeking security through employment

(instead of God) leads to the neglect of important relationships (lack of time for God, family, other Christians), curtailing evangelism (can’t do it at work, don’t have enough time after work), and compromising what we know is right (so as not to lose advancement or the job itself).

Seeking financial security against possible future needs through savings accounts, insurance policies, and retirement funds leads to ungenerous or grudging support of current or imminent needs – such as local and world missions, food for the hungry, clothes for the naked, and shelter for the homeless.

Making your first and foremost source of security the use of control over others may protect you from being taken advantage of or victimized, but it also leads to coercing or manipulating people into doing what we want.

God wants us to be secure, but looking for security in wrong places or in wrong ways feeds self-centered behavior. Real, lasting security comes from putting our lives in God’s hands and living according to

His Word – regardless of the circumstances. It comes from trusting God to be our provider and protector so we are not hindered from seeking His good and the well-being of others by taking matters into our own hands and pursuing security apart from God.

Selfish gratification travels the descending path from bad to worse. However small or innocently we begin, self-gratification compels us to use unnatural means to satisfy normal desires. This is true of the alcoholic, the drug addict, the sexually promiscuous, the homosexual, the rapist, the child molester, those involved in pornography, those involved in witchcraft, the tyrant (be he the ruler of a nation or the bully in his home), the murderer, the physically or emotionally abusive, the gossip, the thief, the swindler, the jealous, the one who delights in getting even, the conceited, the chronic liar, the businessman who behaves like Scrooge, the employee who cheats his employer, and the one who causes or fuels dissension and strife. If we find ourselves satisfying normal desires, God-given desires, and intrinsically unselfish desires through unnatural means it is because we have become self-centered in our pursuits.

Not all desires are sinful. Nor is it selfish to want to satisfy our natural, normal desires. Within the boundaries of love, we can satisfy our normal desires to our heart’s content. We become selfish when we make the fulfillment of our normal desires more important than the good of God and the well-being of others. We go farther down the path of selfishness when we choose to gratify our normal desires through unnatural means. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

God has given us the means to satisfy every natural, normal desire without going outside the boundaries of love – without doing what we know is wrong and harming others unnecessarily in the process.

The Appeal of the Good Life

The focus and benefits of selfishness make it very appealing. For example, looking out for our own interests seems much wiser than entrusting our happiness and well-being to someone we at the very least partially distrust – such as God. And we like the satisfaction of getting what we want, when we want it. We get excited over the possibility of one more acquisition, one more moment of pleasure, one more time for things to go our way, a little more power, a lot more luxury, added income, bigger savings, better returns on our investments, and a more secure future. We treasure quick and sure ways to thwart or get even with people who try to use us, abuse us, cheat us, or beat us for their own selfish ends. We value being able to do what we please, when we please, as we please. And as young and old have figured out, selfishness makes a lot of things possible which are not possible when loving others as ourselves.

However, there is a truth about selfishness that is too often ignored. The benefits of selfishness are temporary while the damage and suffering caused by selfishness last a long time – and sometimes forever.

Every selfish act contains at least one seed of destruction. Each seed produces a two-headed monster. One head turns on us, adding to our woes. The second head turns on those affected by our selfishness, robbing them of what is rightfully theirs and adding to their woes.

In other words, we cannot act selfishly without creating more problems for ourselves. These added problems may not show up for some time, but they will show up and do their devastating work in our lives.

And we cannot act selfishly without creating victims of our selfishness, without bringing unnecessary suffering into the lives of those affected by our selfishness. And sadly, the victims of our selfishness are most often those closest to us. Yet the circle often spreads beyond them and can include those who are out of our sight – those we don’t know and those we will never know.

Dale is a top-notch car salesman making lots of money.

He’s good! He’s so good he used his sales techniques to talk his wife into what he wanted for himself, or what he decided was best for her. At first he lived like a king, oblivious to the effect his methods were having on his wife. But one day, she rebelled. She was through with being manipulated and used.

She was deeply wounded, bitter, and in a state of despair. The man she loved enough to marry turned out to be so selfish that he deliberately and continuously tried to manipulate and control her for his own benefit. Their marriage almost ended in divorce before he admitted to his selfishness and its destructive effect on his marriage. Without a doubt, he enjoyed the fruit of his selfishness for a time. But as he himself now admits, the benefits gained during his few years of pleasure could never offset the pain of a damaged relationship or the cost in time, effort, and money to rebuild that relationship to one of mutual love and trust.

In the long run, the benefits of selfishness are always out-weighed by the destructive consequences brought about by selfishness. And truly, the costliest consequence is the damage done to relationships

– especially those relationships we consider near and dear.

We may gain the whole world by selfishly pursuing the good of self, but we can never gain someone’s love. True love cannot be bought, demanded, finagled, or forced. It must be voluntarily and cheerfully given to be mutually meaningful and satisfying to the one being loved. No mutually loving, mutually satisfying relationship can be one sided. It takes two people committed to the good of each other to give life and durability to a shared relationship of love and trust. A selfish focus on our needs and wants destroys the possibility of sharing in a mutually loving, satisfying relationship.

When it came to things, Jason had almost everything a person could want. He had a huge home, three cars, a pretty wife, good-looking children, fine clothes, a high paying job, the latest in gadgetry and technology, a cottage, a boat, four snowmobiles, two motorcycles, and many other things that people wish for. He got a lot of gratification from his possessions, but he never felt satisfied. In fact, he was angry and depressed most of the time. Few people saw it because he hid it behind the facade of enjoying all his possessions and adult toys. Yet his anger and depression were like a monster on his back which he could not shake off.

Why was he so angry and depressed? Jason longed to be loved. Many claimed to be his friend, yet he shared no bonds of intimacy with anyone. He had no relationships of mutual love and trust – not even in his own home. Though surrounded by people, he felt alone and unloved. It was his own fault. He was so self-centered that he made the people in his life feel as if they were things to be used, not people to be loved. It isn’t as if he had no concern for others. It is just that looking out for the good of others ordinarily took second place to looking out for his good and getting what he wanted. Put simply, Jason had no relationships of shared love and trust because he focused on taking, not giving. It is true, he enjoyed many pleasures and benefits as a result of his selfishness. However, in selfishly seeking his own good he lost out on one of the most valuable and satisfying thing of all – an intimate relationship of communion and companionship based on mutual love and trust where both parties know they are cherished and secure.

Why do we so eagerly sabotage our lives, damage valued relationships, hurt those dearest to us, and bring unnecessary suffering into the lives of people who have done nothing to us to deserve such misery?

Distrust of God and pride-driven selfishness. But why do we go on and on ignoring the obvious consequences of our selfishness? Because it gets us what we want, or at least promises to get us what we want when we want it!

Yet we are ruining our own lives in the process! Don’t we care!?!

Yes, but that concern is pushed aside by our pursuit of the good life as defined by our fleshly desires, ungodly values, irrational fears, the allurement of worldly pleasures and possessions, and our beliefs about what is best for us.

The Appeal of

Immediate

Gratification

Like metal to a magnet, we are attracted to immediate gratification. We want what we want, right now. The fact that the devil used the allurement of immediate gratification when he tempted Eve in the

Garden, and

Jesus in the wilderness, testifies to its powerful, universal appeal.

(Note:

Genesis 3:1-6, Luke 4:1-13)

To better identify selfishly gained immediate gratification, consider its several common forms. It often looks like an expedient short-cut which significantly reduces the time it usually takes to get what we want. Examples of this would be the involvement in sexual activity outside of marriage instead of waiting until marriage, appeasing others to avoid conflict and maintain a semblance of peace, participating in questionable or outright dishonest business practices to gain a promotion or increase profits, and using domineering or manipulative tactics to make others do what we want.

Another form of selfishly gained immediate gratification looks like the ideal quick-fix for a difficult problem. Examples of this would be divorce, returning evil for evil in an effort to stop evil, faking or outright lying to protect ourselves from unwanted shame or loss, and blaming others as the cause of our misbehavior.

Sometimes selfishly gained immediate gratification takes the form of pleasure that numbs us to such things as physical or emotional pain, bad feelings, disturbing memories, or fears. Examples of this would be excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages, taking mind-altering drugs, overeating, getting lost in a hobby, extravagant buying, and excessive television viewing, video gaming, or social media and internet use.

Selfishly gained immediate gratification can look like passive or aggressive behavior that is used to shield us from the unwanted or unpleasant things of life. Examples of this on the passive side would be withdrawal (becoming reclusive), silence, pouting, secretiveness, appeasement, procrastination, and unexplained uncooperativeness.

Examples of this on the aggressive side would be grumbling, screaming, threatening, abusive anger, blaming, and criticizing. We use these kinds of manipulative, controlling tactics to pressure people into giving us what we want, now.

Selfishly gained immediate gratification always looks to us like our only hope when it seems God is failing or has failed us in some way. When we are suffering because of unmet needs, burdened by the misery of physical afflictions, struggling against injustice, broken-hearted by the pain of rejection, feeling abused, afraid, discouraged, or longing to indulge ourselves with some pleasure or possession that has been out of our reach for a while, we turn to selfishness because it seems at the moment to be the most efficient, reliable, and quick way to solve our problems and get what we want.

Therefore, when we are convinced God is not providing the protection or provision we need, our desire for immediate gratification motivates us to deliberately choose selfishness as the most expedient means of dealing with our unmet needs and wants.

However, do not be seduced by the appeal of immediate gratification. It has one major flaw. It denies a reality that over-shadows its benefits. Selfish choices and behavior always give birth to some form of destructive consequences. And, these destructive consequences make our life, and the lives of everyone affected by our selfishness worse than they were before we acted selfishly.

PINOCCHIO is the story of a puppet who was changed into a real live boy through a two-step process.

He was given certain human qualities at first, but he had to remain a wooden boy until he could prove he was brave, unselfish, and able to tell right from wrong.

Since he was not yet fully human, he had no conscience, so Jiminy

Cricket was given that role in Pinocchio’s life.

The sly fox, Foulfellow, was Pinocchio’s tempter.

Pinocchio’s first temptation took place on his way to school.

Foulfellow stopped him and told Pinocchio that he should not waste his time in school.

According to Foulfellow, the wisest thing Pinocchio could do would be to use his talents on the stage where there would be bright lights, the roar of applause, and fame – things which would certainly be more fun than school.

Pinocchio was so enthralled with the thought of stardom that he went with

Foulfellow, who sold him to the carnival man, Stromboli. That very night

Pinocchio got his applause and stardom. But he also got locked in a cage after the show and threatened with being used as firewood if he didn’t continue to perform for Stromboli.

Now take notice. Pinocchio got the promised gratification he selfishly sought, but he also got problems he never would have had had he done the right thing and gone to school. The same thing happens to us when we selfishly choose immediate gratification over what we know is right.

Meanwhile,

Foulfellow was making a deal with Barker, an evil man who enticed boys to Pleasure Island where he turned them into donkeys for use in his salt mines. Foulfellow agreed to help Barker find some boys for

Pleasure Island. Pinocchio, who by now had been freed from the clutches of

Stromboli, was the first one Foulfellow met. It wasn’t long before he was talking Pinocchio into a trip to Pleasure Island by telling him the island was filled with games, toys, and all the candy he could eat. Besides all that, there was no parent or boss there to tell Pinocchio what to do.

By nightfall, Pinocchio reached the island. It was like an enormous amusement park. Gorging himself on the pleasures that surrounded him, Pinocchio was unaware that he was turning into a donkey for use as slave labor in Barker’s salt mines. When Jiminy Cricket realized what was happening, he tried to warn Pinocchio of the impending disaster. Pinocchio would not listen. He refused to believe that Barker, the generous provider of all this fun, had evil motives. In his deluded condition he would not believe that bad could come from something that seemed so good. Yet Pinocchio was sprouting donkey’s ears and a donkey’s tail.

Once again, take notice. To get the pleasure he wanted,

Pinocchio ignored his conscience. He overlooked the obvious discrepancies in what he was told about Pleasure Island (do anything you want without consequences). He refused to question the motives of its owner.

Pinocchio was closing his eyes to the reality of his circumstances and his impending doom. Numbed by the immediate benefits of his choices, he was unaware he was becoming the last thing any of us would want to be – a donkey headed for slave labor in dark caverns under the earth. Yet do we not, too often, act just like Pinocchio?

Consider

Foulfellow’s methods. He got Pinocchio to selfishly do what he knew was wrong by convincing him he could significantly and immediately improve his life. Foulfellow made himself believable by presenting himself as sincerely concerned about the happiness and well-being of

Pinocchio. Yet when the truth was revealed, it was evident Foulfellow cared only about himself. He devised evil schemes to exploit and ultimately destroy

Pinocchio so he, Foulfellow, could gratify his own selfish desires for profit and pleasure.

Satan, his co-workers, and all others who tempt us to sin, be they human or demonic in nature, are similar to the evil characters in the story about Pinocchio. They act as if they are sincerely interested in our well-being. They seem sympathetic when they come to us in our time of need or discouragement or anxiety or insecurity or discontent. Concern for our happiness seems to ooze from their every pore. Their call to self-centeredness seems so rational and reasonable. They sound so sensible and kind when promising tremendous pleasures, huge profits, enviable possessions, popularity, power, acceptance and approval, bulletproof security, or anything else our selfish heart desires if we will but do as they say. Yet they care nothing about our good.

They are completely self-centered – solely interested in using us to gratify their own desires. More than that, they are forever devising evil schemes that will enable them to use us, and indeed ruin us to get the happiness and fulfillment they seek. And sadly, to our shame and ruination, we are so dazzled by the benefits of immediate gratification that we willingly and eagerly do what we know is wrong – even at the expense of those we claim to love the most.

Plainly put, one of sin’s most powerful attractions to our self-centeredness is immediate gratification. Getting what we want, now, can seem so right and good, so deserved and satisfying that we are easily tempted to use selfish and sinful means to gain the satisfaction we seek. If we fail to see this, we will fail to see much of the sin that is in our lives.

Therefore, don’t be blinded by the lie. The benefits of selfishly-based, immediate gratification are temporary while the damage and suffering last a long time – and in some cases, forever.

Therefore, do not live contrary to God’s Word and reason. Do not do what is ungodly, illogical, and irrational. Do not think yourself wiser than God, for following the path of immediate gratification always leads to loss and destruction.

The Denial of

Selfishness

Self-centered people rarely get up in the morning admitting they are willfully and intentionally selfish. They are not inclined to admit they routinely resort to the ways of selfishness to get what they want. In fact, they’ll get indignantly defensive or even angry if asked to admit they cherish the benefits of selfishness more than the good of others, including those they claim to love. This kind of dishonesty is far too common.

However, denying our selfishness does not make us less selfish, nor does it make the consequences less painful to those experiencing the effects of our selfishness.

How is it that we so easily convince ourselves that we are not selfish when we are? Simply put, we think of ourselves as good people trying to do what is best for ourselves in a world where too many others are trying to take advantage of us or neglecting us. Consider the following examples.

Many of us have hurts from the past. Most often, those nearest and dearest, those we should have been able to trust the most have hurt us the most. Because the pain cuts deep, we determine to protect ourselves from being hurt again – and especially from being hurt by someone who holds a position of importance in our life (i.e., parents, spouse, sibling, child, close friend, teacher, co-worker, employer).

Therefore, to keep from being hurt again, we make self-protection the overriding goal in every relationship where we think there is the possibility of being hurt. One way we do this is to keep important relationships shallow enough to end them, relatively pain free, at a moment's notice should that be what it takes to keep from being hurt again.

Another way we do this is to quickly push back (i.e., anger, silent treatment, threats, pulling away) when we pick up even a hint of being hurt by the other person.

However, this sets up a contradiction of reality. On the one hand, we want to be loved – intimately, deeply, vibrantly, freely. On the other hand, we want to protect ourselves from being hurt by the ones we want love from. So we work against the intimacy, depth, and vibrancy we long for by keeping the relationship shallow. Or we stifle or even prevent the growth of intimacy, depth, and vibrancy by using such things as anger, the silent treatment, threats, or pulling away to protect ourselves when a real or even an assumed threat of being hurt appears.

Are we intentionally sabotaging the very thing we want from a relationship with those nearest and dearest? Yes and no. Yes in that we are intentionally protecting ourselves from being hurt again, and in so doing we are using selfish and therefore relationship damaging methods. And no in that we don’t want to damage these relationships, yet we thoughtlessly do because feeling good – as opposed to feeling hurt – is of greater concern than nurturing and maintaining a meaningful, mutually satisfying relationship with someone.

Think about this: who’s good are you seeking when you do this? Only your own. Yet most of us do not see this as a form of selfishness.

To us, it is good judgment. We are simply protecting ourselves from being hurt and ensuring our own pleasure and happiness. So we deceive ourselves into believing our wall of self-protection is a wall of good intentions and not the wall of selfishness it really is.

Another common way we deny selfishness in the pursuit of pleasure is in the pursuit of money and the accumulation of possessions. Think about this: who’s good are we promoting and protecting when we do this? Our own? Yes! Our family’s? Most likely. God’s?

Possibly, yet if so, then marginally. Our neighbor’s or co-worker’s? Only a little if any at all. The poor and disenfranchised in our community and nation, or in third world countries? Once again, only a little if any at all. Yet it is rare to see this as selfishness. Most often it is seen as building a secure future, caring for our families, fulfilling our dreams, and even enjoying God’s blessings which He especially bestows on those He favors. And so we deceive ourselves into believing that some or even many of our efforts at gaining pleasure through money and possessions are efforts of good intentions and not the efforts of selfishness they really are.

Because pleasure is exactly that – pleasurable, many of us treat the pursuit of pleasure as a serious hobby. We see ourselves as doing nothing more than reaching for those pleasures which are rightfully ours. Yet we ignore the fact that our pleasure-seeking pursuits are too often excessive, destructive to our health, financially costly beyond reason, and damaging to our most important relationships. Why? We want to believe that our interest in and pursuit of pleasure is within the boundaries of good intentions and personal rights.

It seems that few are eager to be honest with themselves.

We would rather see ourselves as good people with good intentions. We want to be considerate, honest, moral, conscientious, loving, and kind. And we would be that way, all the time, if it weren’t for other people’s frustrating, unjust, hurtful, vile, or wicked behavior. The reality is, most of us believe noble motives and loving behavior are important, but only so far as they do not hinder us from obtaining what we think will make us happy and ensure a sense of well-being. The problem is not that our selfishness is so difficult to discover. The problem is that we do not want to see it.

How To

Discover Selfishness in Yourself

At least ninety-nine percent of the time we have some purpose for choosing what we choose, and doing what we do. We can discover our purpose by looking at the patterns and/or the timing of our choices and behavior. To find the patterns and/or the timing, we must look at those choices and behaviors that are repetitive, that we do again and again. As we examine the pattern and/or timing, we begin to discover the purpose, or our true intent.

After several years of marriage, I memorized and meditated on James 3:2-12. This prompted me to listen to the way I talked to my wife. Within three to four weeks it became obvious that I regularly used sarcasm and object lessons (or what I called editorial comments)

to communicate my frustrations, disappointments, and dislikes about her to her. (An object lesson is using a situation or a comment she made as a point of reference to redirect her attention to faults in herself that bothered me.)

I wasn’t forceful, as in strong anger and a loud voice. But I was persistent.

As

I examined the patterns of sarcasm and object lessons,

I realized my purpose was to control her. I was persistently using sarcasm and object lessons to push her into doing things my way. I wasn’t screaming and threatening, but I was selfishly sinning against her just the same. I wanted my way, and I was willing to get it at her expense. The repetitiveness of my behavior revealed the patterns, the patterns revealed my purpose, and my purpose showed how self-centered I was.

But maybe you don’t have an aggressive nature like me.

You may be more easy-going, like the passive type person who seems noble at first glance. He is always smoothing out the rough spots in relationships, guarding his words, and even putting conciliatory twists on the hostile words and deeds of others. He continuously works for peace and avoids conflict whenever possible. He hates arguments, strong words, put-downs, and angry outbursts.

He appears to be a sensitive soul who doesn’t want to upset anyone.

Is he this way because he’s committed to the good of others? No! He’s protecting himself from two of his greatest fears – rejection and the loss of a peaceful setting. And what makes him feel rejected

– and therefore unloved? Or what makes him feel the loss of peace? Being the brunt of, or in the midst of criticism, harsh words, anger, and conflict. So he tries to gain acceptance and keep a peaceful environment by continuously appeasing those around him.

Does he appease them because he loves them and wants what is best for them? No! He appeases them in the hope all will be peaceful between he and them. This false sense of peace he interprets as love and acceptance. Do his methods promote intimacy and trust between himself and those he is in relationship with? No! It frustrates them because he won’t work through differences and resolve conflicts with them – things that in the doing would make the relationship better. In fact, his methods ultimately convince them he doesn’t really love them. Could he see the truth about himself? Yes, if he would honestly examine the intent of his easy-going, passive approach to life.

Once we have discovered the purpose of our choices and behavior, we can move toward considering the consequences of our choices and behavior on others and ourselves. Consequences further expose our motives, revealing the selfishness or selflessness that is active within us.

Love not only does no wrong to anyone (Romans 10:13), it seeks the good of everyone (Mark 12:31). In contrast, selfishness does wrong to anyone it must to advance its own cause. Therefore, the consequences of our choices and behavior, both immediate and future, on others and ourselves, exposes our true motives. But remember, when examining consequences, you are looking for your repetitive patterns of choices and behavior, not the exceptions, because it is the repetitive patterns that most accurately reveal your true motives.

Immediate consequences can be discovered by looking at the immediate gains and losses from what we are saying and/or doing. If we are the major beneficiary while others are forced to endure what they do not want to endure, our motive is selfish. If the good of others – which may include us

– is the predominant result, our motive is love.

The long-term consequences can be discovered by asking what future loss or gain will likely be experienced as a result of what we are saying and/or doing. If we are feeding bad habits, damaging relationships, unnecessarily hurting others, doing what is contrary to the Word of

God, and/or dishonoring God in the public eye, we can be sure our motive is selfish. If we are nurturing current relationships, growing in godliness and maturity, serving the good of others, striving to repair damaged relationships, trying to build new relationships, and giving people cause to see God as good, we can presume our motive is love.

To confirm what we discover about ourselves we ought to ask those affected by our choices and behavior how we are affecting them. If they are not available, we should put ourselves in their place and ask how we would feel if we were being treated in the same way we are treating them. And along with these two efforts, it is always wise to ask God to search our heart and thoughts to see if there is any hurtful, selfish and sinful way in us

(Note: Psalm 139:23-24).

Selfishness hides easy, and dies hard. If you want to find it, you must search for it. If you are going to look in the right places, you must examine who you really are, not who you would like to be or think yourself to be. You must come to terms with what you really do, not what you intend to do. If you want help seeing the truth, ask those directly affected by your choices and behavior how they feel about your treatment of them. Listen carefully to what they say. Then, be honest with yourself about what you find. Finally, if you are going to defeat selfishness, you will have to work at it, hard, for the rest of your life.

In Summary

It seems clear that we are born with an over-powering inclination toward pride-driven self-centeredness. However, by the time we become young adults our pride is arrogance toward God and our selfishness is no longer a naive, unintentional response to the needs and wants of life.

It is a deliberate, willfully-intentional act of the will that is not forced on us but chosen by us. And because it is a choice, we are responsible for making that choice.

Willfully choosing pride (or self-rule) and selfishness over humility (submission to God’s rule) and love is directly related to distrust of God’s intention to always do us good, and distrusting the reliability of His Word to tell us the best way to live. To solve our unbelief dilemma, we make ourselves the most important person in our life, determine for ourselves what is best for us, and act accordingly.

Pride and selfishness, or pride-driven selfishness gives life to all sin. For this reason, the very foundation of the Christian life is built on humility and the denial of self. If we are to follow in

Christ’s way, loving as he loves and obeying God as he obeys, we must first deny self and humble ourselves before God. No one can think himself wiser than God and humble himself before God at the same time. No one can love self supremely and love

God supremely. No one can love self supremely and love his neighbor as himself.

To love God supremely and our neighbor as ourselves, we must humbly deny self-centeredness and put away selfishness. (Note: John 12:25; Luke

9:24-25)

The prideful, selfish person who calls himself a

Christian does serious damage to the reputation of God and the reputation of

Christianity. His pride-driven hypocrisy makes God look bad in the eyes of unbelievers, and his selfishness makes Christianity look bad in the eyes of those who endure unnecessary suffering as a consequence of his selfishness. He harms the Body of Christ by setting an example that influences other

‘would be’

Christians and weaker Christians to follow in his footsteps. He does even greater harm by living and presenting a type of religion that leads people to believe they can enjoy the benefits of God’s salvation without forfeiting the benefits of selfishness and sin. He destroys the essence of

Christianity by promoting the importance of being born again and knowing about God while ignoring or evading the need to wholeheartedly live for God. He renders meaningless the language of Christianity by proclaiming to believe it in principle while contradicting it in practice.

(Note: Matthew 16:24-27; I John 4:7-8,20-21;

Isaiah 58)

Are you convinced that pride, selfishness, and sin are inseparably linked? Are you convinced that pride-driven selfishness brings destruction into your life and unnecessary suffering into the lives of all who are affected by your prideful and selfish choices and behavior?  Do you know that God, through His Word and by

His power, will teach you, strengthen you, and enable you to live a love-controlled life? If you have not made the deliberate choice to forsake pride and selfishness, I urge you to do it now. Then, take the necessary steps to give life to your choice.

No

Other Foundation
Book 1
Toward Repentance of Sin and Faith in God

Chapter Five
Sin Gains Control Through Our Feelings

The

Contents Of This Chapter

- Sin Gains Control
Through Our Feelings

- God Gave Us an

Intellect

- God Gave Us a

Conscience

- God Gave Us a Will

- What Feelings

Cannot Do

- Intellect,

Conscience,
and Our Relationship to God

- Uncontrolled

Feelings Lead Us Into Sin

- Getting Feelings

Under Control

- In Summary

Sin Gains Control Through Our Feelings

God created us with feelings to enrich our lives. Feelings intensify the cravings of desire, the burning of passion, the expectation of hope, the joy of accomplishment, the warmth of friendship, and the ardor of love.

Moments of pleasure are richly enhanced by feelings of ecstasy, excitement, elation, inspiration, appreciation, happiness, tenderness, and affection.

Feelings also magnify the pain of rejection, the heartache of abandonment, the trauma of abuse, the anguish of defeat, the despair of hopelessness, grief over loss, and indignation over injustice. Feelings act as an alarm against those things that cause emotional pain and physical harm. Often, it is our feelings that rouse us to back away from people, animals, things, and situations which stir within us a sense of fear, revulsion, or disgust. And feelings enable us to empathize with others. Because we have experienced the feelings associated with such things as love, kindness, gifts, pleasure, embarrassment, discouragement, injustice, loss, pain, and death, we are able to identify with those who experience similar situations.

God Gave Us an Intellect

Feelings are a tremendous gift from God. Yet as wonderful as they are, feelings do not have the capacity to reason or remember. Feelings cannot be educated so as to increase in knowledge and wisdom. Feelings cannot dependably distinguish between truth and error, right and wrong, reality and make-believe.

Therefore,

God created us with an intellect so we would have the ability to think, reason, conceptualize, remember, learn, gain wisdom, ponder, and project probable future outcomes or consequences of current situations or choices. This makes the intellect uniquely different from the ability to feel.

For example, the ability to think enables us to learn from the past, make sense out of what is, and discern what should be. The ability to think allows us to learn new things and integrate new knowledge with what we already know. It enables us to invent, discover, design, and build. It helps us understand others so we can relate in meaningful ways.

With intellect comes the ability to remember what we have learned and experienced.

Memory makes it possible to accumulate knowledge, which in turn allows us to grow in understanding. Increased understanding improves our ability to wisely deal with people and the daily circumstances of life. Memory also gives us the ability to remember important things necessary to our well-being. It is this ability which enables us to remember what is foolish or harmful, and what is wise and helpful. When we use our memory as God created it to be used, we are able to make better decisions in the present because of what we remember from the past.

Intellect makes it possible for us to reason and conceptualize. The ability to reason and conceptualize helps us understand complex ideas, human behavior, difficult situations, and ourselves. The ability to reason and conceptualize helps us apply truths acquired from one experience or area of life to other experiences and areas of life. This ability improves our decision making, enabling us to consider what may happen as a result of the choice we are about to make. With this ability, we can imagine what might be and proceed to pursue it or avoid it. We can reason things out in order to better understand something or make a wiser decision. And we can understand the feelings and needs of others.

Truly, in giving us an intellect, God made us more like himself than any of

His other creatures, for it is our intellect that enables us to choose what is good and behave in sensible, loving ways.

God Gave Us a Conscience

To work in cooperation with our intellect, and to increase our ability to do what is right, God added a conscience.

Our conscience has the ability and responsibility to be the moral guardian of our lives. It helps us discern what is or is not right and good about our behavior, our intentions, our thoughts, and the varied attributes of our character. God has given our conscience the ability to warn us when we are about to do something wrong. Our conscience is able to fuel within us a sense of guilt when we have done something we know is wrong. It is able to promote a sense of obligation to do what we know is right. And, it is able to provide us with a sense of peace and contentment when doing what we know is right. It is important to keep our conscience in good working order. Like a muscle, we can render it useless through misuse, weaken it through lack of use, or strengthen it by acting in accordance to what it says.

God Gave Us a Will

Because mutual love and trust between two people is dependent on the ability and freedom to choose, God created us with a will. The will is that part of our being which makes decisions – deciding what we will or will not do. The will is aided by our intellect, conscience, and feelings, but it alone holds final authority over each decision we make. Everything we do or say, spend time thinking about, genuinely believe, give attention to, or establish as a goal is the result of our will choosing to do so. It seems there is nothing done on the conscious level which is not an act of the will – whether it be right or wrong, active or passive, selfless or selfish, humble or prideful, patient or impatient, kind or unkind, loving or unloving.

The will not only holds sway over our active choices and behavior, it directs our inactive ones, too. When we refuse, neglect, or ignore doing what we know is right, it is our will which has made the choice to do so. When thoughtless, careless, or lackadaisical, it is our will which has decided we should be this way.

Therefore, we are as responsible for what we do as we are for what we do not do.

But doesn’t everyone make mistakes? Yes. Hasn’t everyone been careless or thoughtless at least once in their life when they didn’t really intend to be? Not really. It may seem that way from one perspective, but we do know the difference between an accident and carelessness. To make this clear, start with the obvious.

Refusal to do what we know is right is an obvious choice – an indisputable act of our will.

If something bad happens as a result, it’s no accident. We made a conscious choice, and the results can only be our responsibility.

Neglect is the result of carelessly or intentionally disregarding that which has a rightful claim on our attention. Ignoring the obvious or something that we are responsible for is the result of refusing to give the attention required to fulfill our responsibilities. If something bad happens as a result, it’s not that we didn’t know better or couldn’t have done better. We slacked off, or let down our guard, or gave attention to something less important, or allowed ourselves to take a casual approach to something we knew required greater attention. What has happened is no accident. It’s the result of an irresponsible choice – the kind we would hold others responsible for if their inattention adversely affected us.

Therefore, whether we are ignoring, neglecting, or refusing to do what we know to do, it is an act of our will. And since what we are doing is an act of our will, we are rightly held responsible for what we have done.

No one can force us to do or say anything against our will. If we, through an act of our will, do not agree to it, we will not do it. Alcohol or drugs may dull our senses, pervert our feelings, muffle our conscience, and limit our ability to reason, but our will is still intact making choices as always. People may try to control us by making threats, inflicting pain, or causing us injury.

Or, they may try to control us by giving us special privileges, acceptance, pleasure, fame, power, or riches. Yet we, through the activity of our will, are still the ones deciding how we will interpret and respond to any given person, group, or situation.

If we give into the wishes or demands of others, we do so because we will to do so.

Submission to the will of others is not caused by the lack of choice or the inability to choose. It is the result of choosing what we believe is better in comparison to what we think might or actually would happen if we resisted. The reality is, we can resist anyone or anything so long as we are willing to pay the price of resistance – be it severe punishment, great loss, excessive pain, imprisonment, or even death.

Though

God created us with the ability and freedom to control our choices and behavior by the instrument of the will, our will does not work alone. It works in conjunction with our intellect, conscience, and feelings.

God created the will to work with and under the influence of our other parts so we could be an integrated whole.

On one side of our will is our intellect and our conscience. They work together to influence our will toward the choice they believe is best. On the other side is our feelings.

It is through our intellect and conscience that God instructs us, leads us, gives us wisdom, disciplines us, and builds an intimate relationship with us. Only our intellect and conscience can be tutored by God’s Word, enlightened by

His Holy Spirit, and matured through the experiences of life. Only our intellect can discern

God’s presence, His comfort, and the security of His love.

Only our intellect and conscience can accurately and dependably determine right from wrong, and reality from make-believe.

Though our feelings can be powerful and as such seek to exert significant influence over our will, they are not equipped to promote right or wise or realistic choices over wrong, foolish, and irrational ones. Feelings can just as easily influence us to choose what is wrong as what is right. Why? Feelings are just that – feelings. They cannot think, reason, remember, or conceptualize. They have no stability. They change with the circumstances or the direction of our thoughts because they respond to what is going on around us and in us.

This does not mean feelings are less important to our well-being than our intellect and conscience. Feelings add a dimension to life which we could never experience through our intellect and conscience alone. Just as the beauty of our world is enriched through the addition of color, so feelings enrich relationships and experiences by adding the various colors of emotion. In this way feelings are a wonderful part of living a satisfying, full life. Yet feelings are not designed to choose between right and wrong, good and bad, fact and fiction, real and imaginary, rational and irrational, or even acceptable and best.

What Feelings Cannot Do

Feelings cannot tell if our fears are rational or irrational. They cannot tell if our fears are based on reality or what we imagine is reality.

The child who is afraid of the dark fears what might be when he is in the darkness.

His fear is an irrational response to what he imagines is in the darkness. But try to convince him of that. No amount of reasoning will remove his fear until he is old enough to reason it out. Until then, he is ruled by his feelings of fear, and the only solution that calms his fear is to turn a light on.

The child who has been emotionally, physically, or sexually abused by a close relative develops the fear of being taken advantage of by adults in a position of trust.

This becomes a fear of what might be. This fear is directed toward people in authority, primary care-givers, and those who are being depended on for love and acceptance. Without question, this fear is based on a real and tragic experience. Yet it is irrational to transfer distrust of the person who has taken advantage of us to others who hold a similar position of importance and trust. Misplaced fears of this kind promote automatic and excessive distrust of people who have not shown themselves to be untrustworthy. Because this fear is based on excessive distrust, it makes it nearly impossible to build intimate and durable relationships with those who are nearest and dearest, including

God.

These two examples demonstrate how feelings do not know the difference between rational and irrational fears. Feelings only know fear as fear. God gave us an intellect to determine what kind of fear we are experiencing and what we should do to face, calm it, or reject it. In other words, our feelings tell us we are fearful and our intellect tells us what kind of fear it is and what action we need to take.

Feelings cannot tell the difference between the sensations of pleasure which result from doing something we know is right, and those which come from doing something we know is wrong. In fact, we seem to feel pleasurable sensations more quickly and intensely when doing something we know is wrong. The drug addict, the alcoholic, the sexually promiscuous, and the overeater could each attest to this fact. If we give our feelings authority over our will in regard to pleasure, then the degree of pleasure experienced or expected becomes the deciding factor over our choices rather than our knowledge of right and wrong.

Feelings of sexual passion know nothing about morality or what is required to build good, enduring relationships. They know nothing of the difference between sex for the sake of personal pleasure and sex as an expression of love between a husband and wife. They take no interest in values which seek the good of the individual, the good of the family, and the good of the community. They are not concerned with the sanctity of marriage or the preservation of the family. They only know they want to be gratified.

Therefore, if we follow our feelings, we will live like so many in our society who overspend because of impulse buying, overeat because of taste cravings, smoke because it calms their nerves, drive too fast for the thrill of speed, build financial nest eggs to feel secure, and who are sexually active outside marriage for the pleasure of sex.

It is with our intellect that we can see the folly of living according to our feelings. And it is through the use of our intellect that we subdue our passions so they follow us in doing what is right, rather than leading us into doing what is wrong.

Feelings cannot distinguish the difference between the leading of God and the leading of our selfish desires, impulses, and passions. Only our intellect and conscience have the ability to evaluate urges, promptings, impressions, intuitions, and premonitions in order to discern if they are leading us into doing what is right and God-pleasing or what is wrong.

One of my earliest experiences with this had to do with gossip about a member of our family who, indeed, did an evil thing. Two ladies from our church, who had every right to know of the sinful situation, passed the story on to a married couple in another church. The married couple passed it around their church, and from there it spread to other churches. In time, we discovered what these two ladies had done and how far the story had traveled – a story which should have stayed within the confines of our church. Truly, the couple they told had no need to know, and those whom the couple told were not helped by what they heard. So why did these two ladies pass the story on? They said they felt, deep inside, the leading of the Lord to tell the married couple this story.

They justified gossip on the basis of feelings – feelings attributed to the influence of God in their lives. They were convinced that what they had done was an act of obedience to God because of the way they felt at the time they did it. They did not think about God’s written word which exhorts

Christians to avoid gossip or being a busybody by talking about things not proper to pass on (1

Timothy 5:13). In other words, they did not consider the appropriateness or the consequences of their action, because they were using their feelings to decide what action they should take.

If we allow our feelings to be the supreme influence over our will, we will become slaves to our feelings. We will increase self-centeredness, promote irrational and foolish behavior, become self-destructive, exploit others, distrust

God, and reject portions of His word. Our feelings will drive us to make foolish assumptions, wrongly criticize, say malicious things, gossip, become bitter, hate, take joy in getting even, give in to hopelessness and depression, act greedy, steal, lie, be jealous, and many other selfishly sinful behaviors.

To keep us from being enslaved and destroyed by our feelings, God has given us the power to rule over them. This power is in our intellect and conscience. They have the power to rule over and overrule any feelings in any situation at any time. When we allow our feelings to be the primary influence, it is the result of a voluntary choice to move from doing what we know or can discern is right to doing what feels right or feels best or gratifies the most.

Intellect, Conscience, and Our Relationship to God

At best, feelings can sometimes give us a sense of what is right, but our intellect and conscience are the only parts of our being that have the ability to consistently and accurately determine what is right. This is why God communicates to us and appeals to us through our intellect (the combined work of our memory, thinking ability, reasoning ability, and conceptual ability).

Through the use of our intellect we are able to comprehend God’s invisible attributes, His eternal power, and His divine nature as revealed in creation. It is our intellect which enables us to read and understand God’s Word.

Through our intellect the Holy Spirit clarifies and increases our understanding of

God’s character and Word. Through our intellect we are able to discover, consider, and decide the most practical, loving ways to apply what we know about

God and

His Word to our everyday choices, behaviors, relationships, and circumstances.

Down through the centuries, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers have spoken on God’s behalf. Our intellect enables us to comprehend what they are saying. Our intellect enables us to discern their credibility, and weigh their words against the way they live. Our intellect enables us to search the written word of God to see if what they are teaching is true. And with our intellect we can figure out how to apply their message to our own life.

It is our intellect that makes it possible for us to know when God is speaking to us.

Whether He speaks in the burning bush or through the handwriting on the wall, by means of His ‘still small voice’, through angels, or in dreams and visions, according to the scripture accounts of God speaking, His message always comes in a form which is received and understood by our intellect.

God communicates to us through our intellect because that is the part of our being that can understand His message. Only our intellect has the ability to think, reason, conceptualize, and remember. Only our intellect can grapple with what

He has said so we can realistically and accurately apply His words to how we live. Only as we listen to our conscience and call to remembrance what

He has said will we live by His truths for years to come.

Uncontrolled Feelings Lead Us Into Sin

Satan, and the sinful forces in our society, appeal to us through our intellect, too.

They appeal to our intellect in an effort to stir up distrust of God, prompting us to believe that God is not completely good and His Word is not completely reliable. They encourage us to use our intellect to invent elaborate excuses and seemingly logical justifications for doing what we know is wrong.

They prod us to use our intellect to seek new, more exciting, more gratifying ways to satisfy our passions, impulses, and desires. They want to get us so involved in thinking about the beneficial side of sin and the defective side of God that we are distracted from thinking about how sin destroys us and unnecessarily harms everyone affected by our sin. However, their greatest influence and strongest appeals are directed toward our feelings.

We are tempted to sin when our fears, desires, impulses, and passions are excited by something that either threatens us or promises to gratify us. If we respond to the temptation in a self-centered, self-serving manner, we sin. If we repeatedly respond to the same temptation in a self-centered, self-serving way, we have entered into the practice of sin. The practice of any particular sin quickly becomes a habit. A habit easily turns into an addiction. And when we are addicted to a particular sin it means we have become enslaved by the feelings which trigger that sin.

At this point, we neglect to use our intellect and conscience as God intended them to be used.

We are not interested in clear, rational thinking. We have gotten so engrossed in the pursuit of self-protection or self-gratification that there is hardly time or interest to sensibly think about what is right. And we certainly don’t want to be told by our conscience what is right. Rather, we want to enjoy our sin. So we dull our conscience, confine our thinking to selfish interests, and focus our attention on the gratification of self.

Consider this list of sins compiled from Mark 7:21-22, Romans 1 and 2,

I Corinthians 6:9-10, and Galatians 5:19-21.

"Evil thoughts, sexual immorality, adultery, homosexuality, prostitution, orgies, sexual impurity (such as pornography), sensuality, lovers of pleasure, greed, idolatry, malice, hatred, jealousy, envy, outbursts of anger, creating discord, dissension, factions, strife, deceit, swindling, stealing, slander, gossip, arrogance, boastful pride, insolence, murder, drunkenness, and witchcraft."

All these sins are the result of giving feelings primary influence over the intellect and will. In every case, the sinner has stopped listening to his conscience and quit thinking rationally, that is, in a godly, sensible way about right and wrong. Instead, he is willfully and selfishly acting on the feelings aroused by his fears, desires, impulses, and/or passions.

Therefore, each one of us is tempted when out of fear, desire, impulse, or passion we seek gratification in some ungodly, excessive, unnatural, or forbidden way.

If we allow our thoughts to dwell on the object of gratification (be it a person or thing), and on how good we will feel when we get what we want, we will further stimulate our feelings until they seemingly overwhelm us and convince us to do their bidding. In this frame of mind, we are not thinking about right and wrong. Our focus is on obtaining that which will soothe or gratify our aroused feelings. Driven by our feelings, we give in to temptation and foolishly choose what we know is wrong. In doing or obtaining whatever it was we wanted to do to satisfy ourselves, we sin.

Sin almost always gratifies our feelings for the moment. It pays its debt of promised pleasure, profit, power, possessions, fame, or security. But it also produces long-lasting destruction in our life and unnecessary suffering in the lives of everyone affected by our selfishly sinful choices. God has lovingly and wisely given us an intellect and a conscience to resist temptation and do what is right. (Note:

James 1:13-15)

Getting Feelings Under Control

What is the source of quarrels, conflicts, and hostility? Where do you suppose these things come from? If you look carefully, you will see they come from our irrational fears and selfish desires, our impulses, and our passions. Our craving for what we do not have is fed by our jealousy and envy of what others have.

Consequently, in our frustrated condition we feel angry toward anyone who keeps us from getting what we want. In our anger we pull out our big guns, be they strong words or emotional outbursts or pouting or temporary alienation or physical abuse to get our way. The truth is, we resort to selfish means of getting what we want because we do not ask God for it. And when we do ask God, most of the time we do not get the answer we want because our requests are essentially selfish. We rarely ask for things that will help us die to self, grow into mature Christians, and be more Christ-like. We seldom ask for things that will help us love God with all our being and love those around us as we ought. Most often we ask God for things that will gratify our own selfish, excessive, or unnatural desires, impulses, and passions. Too often we ask God for things that will protect our irrational and exaggerated fears. What folly to live as slaves of our feelings.

If we would, we could control them through the proper use of our intellect and conscience, the empowering and enabling provisions of God for godly living, and the indwelling presence of God’s Holy Spirit – which in turn would lead to asking for good things from God, and He would give them to us. (Note: James

4:1-4)

The truth is, we do not have to live under the tyranny of our feelings. God, through

Christ, has given us His greatest and most precious promises to overcome the powerful influence that our feelings exert on our will. He has given us His Holy

Spirit, prayer, the Bible, the local church, and a number of other things necessary for living a sensible, rational, godly life. He made these wonderful gifts available to us so we can break the enslaving power of our feelings and become partakers of His divine nature. If we will make use of all that God has provided for godly living, and use our intellect and conscience as God intended, we will become the loving people He created us to be – people who thoughtfully and persistently promote and protect the good of everyone affected by our choices and behavior.

Yet at the same time, do not ignore your feelings. God has given them to us to make life more enjoyable, and to enrich our relationships. However, keep your feelings in subjection to what you know is right through the proper use of your intellect and conscience. In doing this, you will avoid many temptations to sin, and then the way into the eternal kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ will be wide open to you. (Note: II Peter 1:4-11)

Therefore, prepare yourself – through wise praying, honest self-examination, the study and application of God’s Word, along with the encouragement and help of other believers – to flee from irrational fears, youthful passions, false beliefs, distrust of God, and daily temptations. Make a plan, work your plan, and invite one or more other believers to support you in working your plan in order to persistently and progressively pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who trust God and pursue godliness from a sincere and pure heart.

(Note: II Timothy 2:22)

In Summary

The primary emphasis of this chapter has been the ease with which our feelings become instruments of sin. There is another side to this issue which, if ignored, could render this chapter useless in some readers’ minds.

Without a doubt, many women and some men depend on their feelings as a form of intuition.

They use their feelings, separate from their intellect or conscience, to provide vital information about a person or situation. Many times their intuition is right, and that to the benefit of all who are well-served by the information their feelings/intuition have provided. And of course, being right serves to reinforce the credibility of the method.

I do not wish to discredit intuition or the use of feelings as a form of intuition.

My purpose is to reinforce that even here, the person relying on feelings/intuition uses his or her intellect to determine if the feelings/intuition are credible, and if they fit within their value system. If these feelings/intuition are deemed credible and fit within their value system, then they decide what action, if any, they will take. In other words, they give their intellect (and hopefully their conscience, too)

authority over their feelings/intuition. They decide which intuitions are rational, reasonable, and worthy of their attention. If they don’t, they leave themselves open to times of irrational or inappropriate or even ungodly behavior.

The fact that feelings and sin are so easily united does not diminish or remove distrust of

God and self-centeredness as the primary drivers behind sin. However, because feelings are a powerful force, they too must be reckoned with if we are to maintain a godly mindset in the face of temptation. Therefore, God directs us to set our mind on God’s interests (Matthew 16:23), to set our mind on the things above (Colossians 3:2), to be transformed by the renewing of our mind

(Romans 12:2), to be sensible (Titus 1,2), and to think on right things

(Philippians 4:8). It is in the proper use of our mind (as described in the aforementioned scriptures) that we able to distinguish between feelings which are directing us toward God and those which are feeding our desire for self-interest. For this reason, the best protection against temptation and sin is the proper use of our Biblically aligned, God enlightened, Spirit led intellect and conscience.

Once again,

God created feelings and emotions for our good and the advancement of

His purposes. Let us not despise them, but neither let us misuse them.

What are you doing with your feelings? Are you pretending they do not exist? Are you giving them free reign over your will? Are you controlling them through the use of your intellect and conscience?

No

Other Foundation
Book 1
Toward Repentance of

Sin and Faith in God

Chapter Six
A Loving God's Just Punishment for Sin

The

Contents Of This Chapter

- A Loving God's Just

Punishment
for Sin

- Basic Truths About

Banishment

- All Have Sinned

- All Have Repeatedly

Sinned

- Sinners Break

God’s Heart

- Sin Causes Others to Suffer Unnecessarily

- Sinners Influence

Others to Sin

- In Summary

A Loving God's Just Punishment for Sin

Once there was a kingdom ruled by a gentle, loving king.

His love for everyone in his kingdom was like that of a good father’s love for his children. Most of his time, energy, money, and possessions were devoted to promoting and protecting the good of everyone under his rule. Just as a wise parent shows no favoritism, so his love was impartial. Though he was exceedingly generous, patient, and merciful he never did anything for anyone that in any way jeopardized the well-being of anyone else in his kingdom.

Wanting everyone to be nurtured and nourished by a love that went far beyond good feelings and the driving forces of passion, he decreed that relationships built on mutual love and trust were to be his kingdom’s most valued treasures. He knew that obedience to this decree would make his kingdom one big happy family. He knew it would make the good of everyone the concern of everyone. And most of all, he knew it would guarantee that everyone, from the youngest child to the oldest adult, would be loved, accepted, valued, safe, and secure anywhere and everywhere in his kingdom.

Knowing the value of love, he wanted his people to be rich in love – rich enough to give as they themselves wished to receive. He wanted their lives to overflow with the unrivaled pleasures and happiness of relationships built on mutual love and trust. Indeed, he wanted for them what he wanted for himself.

That’s right. He wanted to be rich in loving relationships, too. He knew, to the deepest depths of his soul, how precious it was to be loved. He knew how delightful and invigorating it was to share in meaningful relationships of communion and companionship with those who care about others as much as they want others to care about them. He knew how wonderful it was to feel accepted and safe with everyone he knew. And knowing the immeasurable value and deep joy of shared relationships for all involved, he not only wanted them for everyone, but with everyone, too.

To ensure his kingdom remained a safe and secure place to live, the king enacted laws. His laws had a single focus – love. The king defined love as: promoting and protecting the good of others. To help his people understand how to do this, he said they should love everyone affected in any way by their choices and behavior in the same manner and to the same degree as they loved themselves.

It should be obvious to us all that such noble laws, if obeyed, would guard and advance the well-being of everyone – from each law-keeper to everyone affected by what each law-keeper does, be they the smallest and weakest or the king himself. If disobeyed, whether intentionally or unintentionally, harm would befall both the lawbreaker and everyone victimized by the lawbreaker’s wrongdoing.

But there’s more. The unnecessary suffering caused by lawbreaking has an equally heinous partner. When lawbreakers appear to benefit from lawbreaking, their success influences others to break the law.

Thus lawbreaking, if allowed to go unchecked not only causes widespread, unnecessary, and often irreparable harm, it increases the number of lawbreakers by inducing others to become lawbreakers. Since breaking the law and the spread of lawbreaking eventually endangers the well-being of everyone in the kingdom, the king decided lawbreakers would have to be dealt with severely.

So the king established fair yet tough penalties for breaking the law – penalties which were designed both to discourage lawbreaking and help lawbreakers get back on the track of doing what they knew was right.

But he knew the real problem was not the occasional careless choice or moment of selfishness. The greatest threat to the good of his kingdom was the repeat offender. It was the lawbreaker who had so little concern for the good of others that he not only willingly and deliberately broke the law, he repeatedly broke the law. One such offender can do a lot of harm to a lot of people in the span of one life-time.

The king had to protect the good people of his kingdom from repeat offenders. So he decided to punish all who willfully continued doing what they knew was wrong. But to be effective, the punishment had to do three things. First, it had to protect all potential victims from those who would choose to act selfishly. Then, it had to send a strong message of deterrence to would-be lawbreakers. Finally, it had to be equal to the crime.

Could there be a punishment which both protected and sent a strong message of deterrence? Was it possible that such a punishment would also be equal to the self-serving, unjust, unnecessary, and thus despicable disregard lawbreakers had for the well-being of everyone hurt by their lawbreaking? Though it sent a shiver of dismay through his being like that of an earthquake which levels a huge city, the king knew the answer. The punishment would be banishment from his kingdom.

Though the king decreed this punishment for the protection of his people, he hoped he would never have to punish anyone. He even wondered, at times, if he could follow through with this punishment, since he loved everyone in his kingdom as if they were his own children. How could he exile someone he loved as his own child – someone with whom he longed to have an intimate and unbroken relationship? How could he send someone he loved into a cold, uncaring world where selfishness is rampant and evil prevails?

How could he condemn anyone to a world where there is no relief and no end to the suffering caused by selfish people living selfishly? In such a world, there would be no one there to protect them, for there would be no law of love or loving authority to restrain the heinous evil of selfishness. Yet he knew he had to punish repeat offenders for the good of everyone. Love demanded it. It was the only way he could promote and protect the good of everyone so no one would suffer unnecessarily or repeatedly at the hands of unrepentant lawbreakers.

At first, the idea of self-centeredness – of making one’s own interests one’s primary concern – was unheard of in his kingdom. Everyone lived as if the king’s happiness and the well-being of family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers was their primary concern. Seeking the good of others was the ruling principle and primary motive in everything people said and did.

Relationships built on mutual love and trust flourished. Truly, loving relationships were valued above all else. Everyone was loved and cared for. No one lacked any good thing.

However, that all changed the day the well-educated, well-spoken, well-dressed outsider came to the kingdom. He began teaching that the best way, the wisest way, the most sane and sensible way to live was to make the good of self the ruling principle and primary motive in all that was said and done. At first, hardly anyone listened, and fewer still took seriously the challenge to live according to his teachings. But once people began to see the fast-acting, personally-gratifying benefits of self-centeredness, it spread like wildfire.

This new way of thinking about themselves led them to believe they had been duped by the king and his glorification of love.

Then, they became suspicious of the king’s motives and laws. Soon they were brazenly saying cynical and derogatory things about him and his laws. Some said the king’s laws were petty. Others said his laws were oppressive.

Some said they were idealistic. Many said they were impractical. Some said the king was dictatorial. Others said he was narrow-minded and intolerant of anything that wasn’t according to his wishes. Many said he wasn’t the king of love at all because his punishment of repeat offenders was excessive, and it seemed he took pleasure in banishing anyone who did not do things his way. Almost everyone was feeling a sense of gratitude toward the outsider for showing them the foolishness of the king’s way.

Compared to selfishness, the king’s love now seemed restrictive and unnecessarily costly to the people of the kingdom. To love the king’s way meant denying themselves for the good of others.

They now wanted to indulge themselves for the good of self. To love the king’s way required forsaking too many pleasures and being content with having what they needed.

They now wanted more, even though they had enough. To love the king’s way meant using their resources and time to seek the good of others, to protect the weak, and to ensure that those with less always had enough. They now wanted to use most, if not all of their resources and time to make a better life for themselves. To love the king’s way meant building meaningful, lasting relationships with as many people as possible. They now wanted only those relationships which met their needs, satisfied their longings, and fulfilled their dreams.

As far back as they could remember they had made the king’s happiness and the well-being of everyone in his kingdom their primary concern. Now that they were wiser, it was no longer going to be their primary concern – a secondary concern, yes, but not their primary concern. Now their primary concern was their own good.

So they rebelled – some sooner than others. But in the end, everyone rebelled. They rebelled because they were convinced that selfishness did them more good than living the king’s love.

The king tried to reason with them. He explained, over and over how they were being deceived – truly duped

– by the outsider. He tried to show them how, in going along with the outsider, they had to lie to themselves. He pointed out the insidiousness of selfishness – how it promises the best of everything while actually multiplying their problems, unjustly harming others, and destroying relationships. He made it clear that if they continued to disobey, they would eventually destroy themselves, their families, and the kingdom.

They did not listen. All they could think of when they heard the king plead with them to return to living by his laws was that his love was too restrictive, too risky, and too difficult. They had tasted the good life, and they did not want to return to the king’s way of self-denial.

They wanted the luxuries and pleasures selfishness gave them. They preferred the methods of self-indulgence and self-protection selfishness provided. They liked the feelings of happiness and security obtained through selfishness. And they were certain the king was selfishly trying to deny them this wonderful new life the outsider had shown them.

The king disciplined them. He took away privileges and handed out fines. At the same time, he offered them help. He made his entire staff available to give whatever help they needed to return to a life of love.

He trained speakers and sent them throughout the land to explain why selfishness, for all its promises and instant gratification, was the worst way anyone could live. He even offered to pay people’s fines if they would change their mind about selfishness and make a serious commitment to live selflessly once again.

Sadly, only a few changed their minds and returned to the king’s love. The rest remained determined to promote and protect their own good to the neglect or at the expense of others. They knew they were rejecting the king, and in so doing breaking his heart. They understood their selfishness victimized others. They were aware that breaking the law would bring discipline, and that continuing to break the law would mean banishment.

They didn’t care. For them, the life of selfishness was a good life – too good to give up. And, their persistent pursuit of immediate gratification helped them forget the ultimate consequences of their choices and behavior.

Once in a while they felt pangs of guilt, but they repressed those feelings by focusing on the good feelings they got from getting what they wanted.

Finally, the king could tolerate it no longer. Love was compelling him to act. He loved the obedient subjects of his kingdom.

He also loved those who, in defiance of his authority, were unwilling to be restrained by love. Without question, he hated what they did – how they victimized others for the sake of some personal gain – but he loved them. In fact, it was his love -- his love for everyone that made it painfully obvious he could not go on forever trying to change the minds of those who clung to their selfishness. For the sake of the suffering victims unjustly hurt by those committed to selfishness, he had to take further action. For the sake of the few who returned to loving as he loved, he had to do what he said he would do.

So, with a broken heart and tear-filled eyes, he applied the punishment for willfully and repeatedly breaking the laws of the land. He banished the unrepentant offenders from his kingdom.

Basic Truths About Banishment

When we know what is right yet choose to do nothing, or when we willfully do what we know is wrong, we sin. All sin, either immediately or eventually, brings some form and measure of unnecessary suffering into the life of anyone affected by it. Therefore, God rightly condemns us for the suffering we selfishly, unjustly, carelessly, neglectfully, or in any other way unnecessarily bring into someone’s life by the wrong we have done or continue to do.

And though we want God to judge and condemn those whose sin causes us to suffer unjustly, we don’t want God to judge us this way. We want to be selfish and do what we know is wrong regardless of the harm it does to others without being condemned (privately or publicly), disciplined, or punished.

In other words, we want God to hold others accountable for their sinful behavior, especially when it harms us, while not being held accountable for ours. We want others to treat us according to the rules of love while having the freedom to live according to the rules of selfishness when it serves our purposes.

For example, we expect of others what God expects of us.

When their behavior directly affects us, we expect them to do what they know is right. In fact, we believe it is our right to expect others to treat us with respect and to refrain from anything that jeopardizes our interests and well-being. And yet, when we think a selfish or sinful solution is the only reasonable response to a particular situation, we justify or make excuses for doing what we know is wrong even though others are unnecessarily harmed in the process.

We believe that anyone who satisfies his own desires, pursues his own interests, or meets his own needs at our expense has a serious defect in his character (he’s a bad person).

Such a person deserves to be held responsible for the wrong he has done. Yet we see ourselves as well-intentioned people who, generally speaking, only do what is wrong when forced to by our circumstances. And we claim our wrong-doing is not the result of a flawed character, but a flawed environment. Therefore, we expect others to understand our situation and overlook our wrong-doing.

We believe that anyone who deliberately ignores us in our time of need or crisis has intentionally wronged us. Yet we live as if the less advantaged, the truly needy, the unfortunate, children without parents, abandoned old folks, the underclass, the powerless, and the victims of disaster are not our responsibility.

We believe it is right to discipline, dislike, shun, despise, and finally banish (i.e., divorce, imprison)

anyone who causes us to repeatedly suffer or who does us great harm. Yet when we commit a particular sin, over and over, we want those sorely affected to see it as our inability to be perfect, or as a flaw caused by being raised in a dysfunctional family, or as a part of our personality. In other words, we want to be accepted and approved just the way we are while refusing to extend that same consideration to those who sin against us.

When we live this way, we are living by a double standard

– one for ourselves and one for others. And without saying it, and sometimes without even thinking it, we fully expect two judgments – one which condemns them for mistreating us and one which justifies us for doing the best we can, under the circumstances.

However, the one who willingly and knowingly sets aside love for the ways of selfishness is a menace to everyone who is affected by just one of his selfish words or deeds. If he repeats one or more sins over and over, he is a perpetual threat. Therefore, the only realistic protection against impenitent sinners is to remove them and keep them separate (banishment)

from those who are seriously striving to live a godly, love-controlled life as described in God’s word (Note: Romans 13:8-10).

Banishment would not be so bad if one were exiled to a place that offered as many opportunities for love, justice, meaningful relationships, happiness, and security as the place one was banished from. But banishment is not a reward for good behavior.

Indeed, the first duty of banishment is to protect those who are committed to loving as God loves from those who are committed to loving themselves, first and foremost. The second duty of banishment is to deter would-be sinners by punishing unrepentant sinners.

To be an effective deterrent, the punishment must fit the crime. Those who willfully, intentionally, and repeatedly seek their own good at the expense of others are cruel, heartless people – and this includes even the nicest sinners. They are cruel and heartless because they have convinced themselves that self-centeredness is justifiable given some of the unpleasant circumstances and unscrupulous people they have to deal with. In other words, they choose selfishness to the harm of others because they believe it is their best option. Therefore, eternal banishment from the presence of God and into the kingdom of Satan not only fits the crime, it is a punishment that sends a strong message of deterrence to would-be sinners.

To see how strong the message of deterrence is, consider the following. Those who are banished are sent to a place filled with self-centered people committed to selfishness. In this place there won’t be anyone committed to the way of love. There won’t be any people of conscience fighting for justice. There won’t be any people of charity working to offset the effects of selfishness on its victims. There won’t be any authority or government enforcing just laws or protecting the weak from the will of the strong. There won’t be any safe place, no haven where victims can find relief from people eager to use and abuse them. This place will be worse than a prison filled with incorrigible criminals of every kind, and who have complete control over everything that goes on within the prison because the only guards are outside the walls preventing any escape. In such an environment there is no escaping the torment of unjust suffering at the hands of sinners or the despair of being victimized repeatedly. In such an environment there is no hope for a better life. In fact, life will grow worse and worse, forever, because the way of selfishness is a downward path into ever degenerating depravation and perversion.

In addition, those who are banished go empty-handed. They must leave behind all their worldly possessions, wealth, and positions of power. They enter their new living situation with nothing. And their new place of abode is a worthless land. It has no possibility of gratifying their desires or satisfying their needs. Indeed, it cannot give them one-tenth of one percent of what they had.

Now imagine the endless, desperate efforts of empty-handed, self-centered people in a worthless land trying to supply their own needs and gratify their own desires. Add to that the fact that their only commodity will be each other. This means their only hope of improving their own quality of life will come from preying on each other. And prey they will, for above all else they are self-centered. This is the saddest, and certainly the worst of all existences.

Please, think about this. The punishment for willfully and repeatedly breaking the law of love means losing everything your selfish mind thinks vital to your happiness and well-being. It means going empty-handed to a worthless place which has no possibility of gratifying your desires or satisfying your needs.

It means being in a lawless place filled with self-centered people who have done, and will continue to do, whatever it takes to get what they want.

And because the very nature of selfishness puts us on a downward slide into ever-increasing wickedness, your existence will grow ever more horrifying.

Truly, it is a place of torment and sorrow – a punishment which fits the crime. And it fits the crime because torment and sorrow are the very things unrepentant sinners continuously inflict on others as they self-centeredly seek their own happiness, pleasure, and well-being.

All Have Sinned

Sin is a universal problem. No one is sin free. None of us knows anyone who has lived a sin-free life. Some of us know a good person – someone who sins so seldom it seems he never sins at all. But even such a good person as this has a past that includes sinning at one time or another, if not repeatedly for a time.

Everyone has willingly and deliberately done something that they know is wrong. Who hasn’t, at least once, intentionally acted selfishly, and in the process hurt someone else? Who hasn’t willfully refused, or carelessly neglected to seek the good of someone in order to give attention to seeking their own good? Who hasn’t damaged a relationship through self-centered, self-serving behavior, whether it be a relationship with

God, a parent, siblings, a spouse, children, friends, neighbors, or a co-worker?

Indeed, we all have broken the rule of love which God established for the well-being of all mankind – the very same rule we want others to live by when dealing with us. (Note: Romans 2:1-16; 3:10-18,23; 13:8-10)

Since we all have sinned, every one of us is rightly under the condemnation of God’s punishment for sin. Yet many argue that God is grossly unfair or diabolically cruel for punishing sinners by banishing them to hell forever. Many are offended, and even angered that God intends to punish them as if they have done enough to deserve banishment. Most of us act as if we’ve sinned so seldom it’s almost as if we haven’t sinned at all. And when we do sin, we see our sin as a mistake, as a consequence of having a bad day, as a result of our up-bringing, as a necessary evil given the circumstances we are in (i.e., believing it’s necessary to use dishonest business practices because that is the way it is in the business world), or as a response to someone who is sinning against us – all things which indicate we think we are basically good people caught in a bad situation. Since we do not see ourselves as bad people deliberately choosing to seek our own good at the expense of others, we often think of our sin as being about as bad as a little, unimportant, almost harmless, white lie compared to what others do.

And who is deciding how harmless our sin is? Well, of course, we are. But is that fair? Don’t we demand the right to decide how other people’s sin affects us? If we believe it is our right to decide how their sin affects us, shouldn’t we give them the right to decide how our sin affects them?

If we maintain the right to judge the effect of sin in both cases, will we do it honestly – with a single standard? If we do not judge with a single standard but rather go easier on ourselves than others, it proves we are using a double standard that favors us.

The reality is, when you sin, when you seek your own good at my expense, when you do what you know is wrong to my harm, you are not a good person caught in a bad situation any more than I am a good person caught in a bad situation when I sin against you. When either of us sins it is because we have willfully chosen to do what we know is wrong. Therefore, our sin is selfish, unkind, uncaring, and hence evil because it is grossly unfair to anyone who must unnecessarily and unjustly suffer the consequences put into play by our choice to do what we know is wrong. (Note: I John 1:8; 3:14-18; 4:20-21)

All Have Repeatedly Sinned

The problem of sin would be bad enough if we each sinned just once in a lifetime. But as we can read in the newspaper, see on the television, hear from our associates, and know from personal experience, the problem of sin greatly exceeds "bad." It is a ravaging scourge wreaking havoc with horrifyingly devastating results in every corner of the world.

Why?

Because every single human being, past or present, has practiced sin to one degree or another. In other words, we haven’t sinned just once. We sin repeatedly.

And we repeat many of the same sins repeatedly.

It isn’t that we don’t do anything right. Even the worst sinner does some things right. I don’t know anyone whose every thought, word, and deed is selfishly sinful. And it isn’t that we harm everyone all the time by everything we do. It is easily verifiable that others have been helped by the good things we do. But the problem of sin is not in the things we do right or the people we don’t hurt. The problem of sin is that we willingly, deliberately, and unnecessarily hurt others when we do what we know is wrong.

Can any amount of good make up for deliberately and repeatedly sinning against anyone? Absolutely not!

“Hey, wait one minute,” you say! “How can you say that good doesn’t make up for bad? Maybe it’s true in relation to the evil, vile, sinister, atrocious things some people do. But I only make a few mistakes now and then. Well maybe I deliberately do a few things I know are wrong.

But what’s so bad about that? Everyone sins. And besides, what I do is nothing compared to what most people do. Surely the good I do far exceeds and therefore makes up for the bad.”

Consider:

there are basically two levels of sin. On one level is the baseball-bat-to-the-head sin. On the other is the kick-in-the-shin sin.

The baseball-bat-to-the-head type sin is that one-time sin which does so much damage it only has to happen once to be too often.

Examples of this are murder, rape, child sexual abuse, adultery, drunk driving that injures others, physically beating your spouse, and torture. When a person commits a baseball-bat-to-the-head type sin, all the good they are doing and have done is overshadowed by the sin. They can pay their debt to society by going to jail or paying a hefty fine, but they can never make up for the suffering they’ve caused. They can change their ways so in the future they treat people with love and respect, but even that cannot undo the harm they’ve done through their sin.

For example, nothing good the murderer has done or will do can bring his victim back to life. Nothing good the rapist has done or will do can restore his victim’s purity and peace of mind. Nothing good the child sexual abuser has done or will do can restore his victim’s childhood innocence.

Nothing good Adolph Hitler (Germany) or Pol Pot (Cambodia)

did could make up for the extreme suffering they inflicted on large numbers of people under their control. The baseball-bat-to-the-head type sins are so heinous they cannot be offset by any good the sinner has done or may do.

This seems obvious enough. But it only applies to a few people, because most people don’t commit baseball-bat-to-the-head type sins.

Fewer still commit these types of sins on a repetitive basis. Of those who do, most are brought to justice so as to put an end to their atrocities.

So, what about the rest of us? We are predominantly involved in the kick-in-the-shin type sins. Examples of kick-in-the-shin type sins are tardiness, sloppiness, compulsive perfectionism, manipulation and control, an angry temper, derogatory comments, put-downs, faultfinding, argumentativeness, deceit, shirking responsibilities, over-spending, under-spending, late pay or no pay on debts owed, stinginess, prejudice, unforgiveness, insensitivity, sexual unresponsiveness within marriage, workaholism, neglect, holding others to a stricter standard than we hold ourselves, conceit, general unkindness, jealousy, envy, substance abuse, and getting even.

Generally, society thinks these sins are not so bad. In fact, kick-in-the-shin sins are committed so often that many of them seem normal to most of us. Besides, most of them have a seemingly minor effect on their victims. Surely the good we do offsets this type of sin.

What a self-serving misconception! To begin with, the same distrustful self-centeredness which is the driving force behind baseball-bat-to-the-head sins is the driving force behind kick-in-the-shin sins.

In other words, whether we commit the supposedly big sins or the seemingly little sins, we sin because we willfully, deliberately, knowingly, and too often eagerly do what we know is wrong – seeking our own good at the expense of others. It is this distrusting, self-centered mindset, this sin-justifying belief system, this exaltation of self-interest over the good of others which makes every sinner a dangerous threat to the well-being of everyone affected in any way by his choices and behavior.

Remember, sin, whether great or small, is evil because it unnecessarily harms others – from self to God to anyone else affected by its ripple effects. In this same way, the sinner, whether he commits atrocities or seemingly insignificant sins, whether he commits one sin or thousands, is evil because he is choosing to knowingly and deliberately harm others.

Therefore, it is not the size of the sin nor the magnitude of sins committed which condemns us to hell. It is our willingness to go our own way, to look out for our own good, to gratify our own desires, and to meet our own needs at the expense of others which makes us worthy of eternal banishment from God and all who love as God loves.

Beyond this, consider the arenas where kick-in-the-shin sins commonly occur. The greatest number of kick-in-the-shin sins are committed in the home, and in our active communities (extended family, school group, workplace, social group, church group, neighborhood). This means kick-in-the-shin sins are committed by someone we know and with whom we spend significant amounts of time. The sinner may be our parent, sibling, spouse, child, extended family member, neighbor, pastor, fellow church member, boss, co-worker, employee, or a social acquaintance. It is reasonable to assume that every one of these people have good qualities and do good things for those closest to them. Yet if they kick us in the shin once a day, or several times a week, or five to six times a month, or eight to twelve times in a year, it isn’t long before the kick in the shin becomes so hurtful, so offensive, so much a statement of disloyalty and disrespect and lack of love, that it overshadows all the good they do for us.

One example of this is often found in divorce. The wife who wants a divorce is not trying to get away from her husband because he is totally bad. He has many redeeming qualities. He does many things well.

So why the divorce? He has kicked her in the shin so often with the same three or four sins that she feels she can’t take any more. She hurts too much. And, she’s been hurting too long. Her husband’s sin, though seemingly small by comparison to murder or rape, has become so large in its repetitiveness that he no longer does enough good to offset the bad.

Most of us do not commit baseball-bat-to-the-head type sins. But we do commit kick-in-the-shin type sins, again and again and again.

This is called practicing sin. We practice sin because we believe in the worth of sin over the worth of love and the worth of doing what we know is right. We practice sin because we are willing to harm others in our efforts to benefit ourselves. We practice sin because we do not believe God or His ways work well enough to be useful in our situation. And whether we admit it or not, every one of us has made a practice of at least one, if not dozens of kick-in-the-shin type sins.

Therefore, we are guilty. We are guilty of eternal damnation because we have willfully inflicted pain on others for purely selfish reasons. We are guilty of knowing better, especially since we expect better of everyone whose behavior affects us. We are guilty of repeatedly sinning against the same people, of forcing them to endure unnecessary suffering again and again. We are guilty of loving ourselves more than others, and in so doing, we become guilty of deliberately seeking our own good at their expense.

This is an atrocity for which God rightly condemns us to banishment in hell forever. And be assured of this, no amount of good done can make up for the wrong we have done.

Sinners Break God’s Heart

Too few of us give any serious consideration to how our sin affects God. Some even think God is completely unaffected by our sin. And yet, when we sin, we send God the message that we think we know more about ourselves and what is best for us than He does. We tell Him by our actions that we are rejecting His position of authority over us, and that we are taking over that position ourselves. When we sin, we spurn His love and reject His truth in order to take hold of what we suppose is love and imagine is truth.

This breaks

God’s heart, just as it would break any father’s heart who was treated this way by his children. (Note: Ezekiel 6:9; Psalm 78:40-41; Isaiah 63:8-10;

Luke

19:41-42; Ephesians 4:30)

Because

God’s way of love makes the good of all its focus, we break His heart when we make the good of self our focus

– hurting people He loves in the process. And since God loves everyone, we cannot selfishly and unnecessarily hurt anyone without turning our backs on

God, rebelling against His will, discounting His Word, and sending God the message we love ourselves more than Him. Indeed, we bear witness to the truth of these things every time we place our interests above the good of someone God loves.

And who does God love? Everyone. God loves us all – male as well as female, child as well as adult, black as well as white,

Asian as well as Mexican, righteous as well as unrighteous, Muslim and Hindu and new-age and skeptic as well as Christian, Democrat as well as

Republican, your neighbor as well as you, and you as well as me.

God is fighting an all-out war with evil to protect the good of all. We break His heart when we side with His archenemy, the devil, in the pursuit of some selfish or fleshly or worldly good. In fact, James says that friendship with the world is hostility toward God, and whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. To see this more clearly, imagine yourself as a good, loving parent who wants what is best for all your children. Imagine that one of your children turns against you and the family to the harm of one or more family members, and to the loss of relationship with that child. Surely this would break your heart!

Consider this second example. If I selfishly mistreat or abuse or despise my mother-in-law, I am hurting someone whom my wife dearly loves. This breaks her heart and drives a wedge between us. In the same way, we cannot selfishly and unnecessarily hurt anyone God loves without hurting God, and alienating ourselves from Him.

To deliberately and unnecessarily sin against God, the creator of the universe, our loving Father, the One to whom we owe honor and respect, surely means we deserve banishment from His presence and kingdom forever.

But above all this, God’s way of love includes wanting a love relationship with us – a two-way, intimate relationship of communion and companionship built on mutual love and trust. Yet when we act like the prodigal son who took his father’s wealth and went off to live as he pleased – we damage and even sever our relationship with God – even if for a time. This would break any father’s heart, and surely it breaks

God’s heart. (Note: James

4:5)

God promises to father us and raise us to spiritual maturity. We break His heart when we want Him to pamper us with a problem-free, physically healthy, worldly wealthy life instead of using His tools

(trials and testings) to transform us into the likeness of His son, Jesus Christ.

(Note:

James 1:2-4)

Finally, true happiness, fulfillment, and security come from a relationship with

God built on mutual love and trust. Therefore, we break God’s heart when we look for happiness, fulfillment, and security in other places

– such as employment, entertainment, worldly pleasures, personal accomplishments, power, fame, possessions, and money, which damages and destroys relationships in the process.

Sin Causes Others to Suffer Unnecessarily

Not only do we hurt God every time we sin, we hurt everyone else our sin affects. This point has been made quite extensively already, but it bears repeating.

Some of the destructive consequences of our own sin boomerang on us, bringing unwanted hardship, suffering, turmoil, and loss into our own lives. But this is exceedingly fair. What is unfair is that some of the destructive consequences from our sin victimize others who had no involvement with our decision to sin. Yet because of our sin, they are in some way harmed by it. This is inhumane. It is cruel to bring needless difficulty, heartache, anxiety, pain, suffering, and loss into the life of anyone who has had no part in choosing and committing our sin.

Consider the unjust and unnecessary suffering inflicted on children raised by compulsive or perfectionistic parents. Consider this same thing for children raised by domineering or critical or nagging parents, children of divorced parents, children of workaholics, children of alcoholics or drug abusers, children of religious fanatics or hypocrites, children of sexually or physically or emotionally abusive parents, children of permissive parents, children of unreasonably strict parents, and children neglected or abandoned by their parents.

Consider the unjust and unnecessary suffering experienced by a spouse who becomes infected with the HIV virus because her mate is sexually promiscuous or an IV drug user. And what about people injured by drunk drivers, students taught by ill-prepared teachers, citizens whose politicians are more interested in re-election than good government, manufacturers who are sued by consumers because employees carelessly do their work, workers who are underpaid or exposed to hazardous work conditions because employers are too concerned with profits, and employers who lose money because employees steal from them.

Consider the unjust and unnecessary suffering inflicted on neighbors of people who live like pigs, or on people who are robbed

– especially those who are robbed and physically harmed at the same time, or on people who undergo unnecessary surgery just so the doctor or hospital can make more money. And what about people who are denied the opportunities and privileges that others enjoy because of discrimination on the basis of color or religion or gender or physical condition. Everywhere we look, we find people suffering unjustly and unnecessarily at the hands of sinners.

In spite of the shortness of these lists, they make the point. Because of sin, everyone who has ever lived on the face of this earth has suffered unjustly and unnecessarily at the hands of willful sinners acting selfishly. Yet the connection between a sinner’s sin and a victim’s suffering isn’t always clear.

An automobile assembly line worker had the job of attaching brake lines on the passenger side of cars. One Monday night he stayed up late to watch football. During the course of the game, he drank enough beers to get drunk. He went to work the next day, but he was neither mentally nor physically fit to do quality work. During his workday he made several mistakes in attaching brake lines. He wasn’t aware of making any mistakes because he wasn’t giving the kind of attention to his work that was necessary to detect mistakes.

As the cars passed the next inspection point, an inspector who had a bad sinus infection was more engrossed in nursing his cold than in inspecting cars. Out of neglect caused by the distraction of his sinus infection, he put his stamp of approval on every car that came his way that day, instead of giving them his usual thorough inspection.

A computer company bought one of the cars made on this day for business use by a new young employee. The company intended that the car be used for work purposes only. Yet since it was new and gas could be purchased on the company credit card, the young man drove the car for some personal use as well. One evening, after spending several hours dining, dancing, and drinking alcoholic beverages with his friends, the young employee got into his company car and started for home. Within a mile of his home his headlights shone on a car. The car was pulled to the side of the road, but not off the road. It was halfway in his lane. An older gentleman was trying to change the rear tire on the driver’s side.

The young man could have veered around the parked car and continued safely on his way, but his mind was too clouded with a mixture of alcohol and exhaustion from too many late nights. The only thing he could think of was stopping – right now! So he jammed on his brakes. The force of his foot on the brake pedal was so powerful that the improperly fitted brake line connected to the front right brake broke loose as the pressure of the brake fluid forced its way into the brake. As brake fluid poured out, the left front brake quit working and the young man crashed into the parked car. The collision killed the older gentleman. When the police arrived, they looked inside the older gentleman’s car and found his wife, seriously injured.

She spent two months in the hospital recovering from the accident. To recover her losses, the woman sued the company the young man worked for.

How did all this happen? It happened because of choices – selfish or careless choices which left victims in their wake.

The assembly line worker chose to stay up late and drink too much beer, even though he was old enough to know it would affect the quality of his work the next day. He chose late night entertainment and the pleasure gained from too many beers over the safety of those who drove or got in the path of any car he helped build.

The sick inspector was so concerned about relieving his own suffering that he neglected to be properly concerned about the safety of the consumer. He could have stayed home, but he did not want to use his sick leave. So he chose income and the relief of his own suffering over the well-being of anyone who would drive or get in the way of a car he inspected that day.

The young employee chose to drive the company car even though he knew it was against company policy. He chose to take and use what did not belong to him because it meant he did not have to use his own income for such things. He gave no thought to how his dishonesty and greed might hurt his company. He also knew he drank more than he should.

But he enjoyed partying with his friends. It kept him from being lonely. Like so many others, he wanted to be liked, to feel happy, and to have more than he had – and he was willing to pursue these things at the expense of others.

It is clear that none of the choices these people made were made with the intention of harming anyone. They were simply looking out for themselves, as selfish people do. They were not like premeditated murderers who plot their evil beforehand. They were like manslaughters who harm others from carelessness and foolishness. They were not intentionally harmful, just intentionally selfish. Yet in seeking their own good without equal regard for the good of others the results were just as disastrous as if they had intentionally plotted to do this much harm.

Most of us do not think about how our choices and behavior affect others. We are too concerned with our own interests.

Yet we expect others to be careful as to how their choices and behavior affect us.

This is a double-standard – an intentional double-standard that lacks any justification – only condemnation.

Love does no harm to its neighbor. Loving God supremely and our neighbor as ourselves is the only way to protect everyone from unnecessary heartache, injury, and suffering. If we will not repent of selfishness and make love the ruling principle in our life, we remain a constant threat to the well-being of everyone affected by our selfish choices and behavior. Therefore, banishment is the only effective, permanent protection against such a threat.

God has chosen to banish everyone who willfully remains committed to selfishness. This is reasonable in that it removes the self-centered so those who love can live together in peace and harmony

– loving others as each ought to be loved. Therefore, banishment (death, eternal separation from God, being cast into hell with the devil and all his cohorts)

is God’s chosen way of protecting the victims of sin, punishing sinners who continue to deliberately do what they know is wrong, and deterring would-be sinners from practicing sin.

Sinners Influence Others to Sin

Sinners, especially the successful ones, influence and inspire others to sin. The apparent ability of sinners to quickly and effectively protect themselves, satisfy themselves, and accumulate good things influences others to pursue sin as a reliable means of improving their condition.

Consider the parent who tries to control his children through angry physical punishment, harsh words, or excessive threats.

He may control his children, but he is also teaching them to treat others the way he treats them. He won’t have to sit his children down and explain to them that anger and abusiveness are effective means of making people do what you want.

His example provides all the teaching they need. The truth of this is proven in our own society. Most children who come from physically violent or verbally abusive homes use abusive force on their mates and children to maintain control over them. This is the direct result of one sinner influencing others to join him in his sin.

The businessman who seems to have all the money he wants for personal use is often looked up to as a success. If his success is due to cheating on his taxes (paying cash under the table, swapping business services for personal-use goods, treating personal expenses as business expenses), and underpaying his employees, those who want to mimic his success will be highly influenced to mimic his methods. This is how one sinner influences others to join him in the ways of sin.

Consider the impact of motion pictures and television on the young and impressionable. Movies and television often depict sinful behavior as normal behavior practiced by decent people. They depict seemingly normal people participating in acts of violence, revenge, sexual activity outside of marriage, homosexuality, drug and alcohol abuse, divorce, deception, greed as it pertains to wealth and luxury, the abuse of power, and other self-serving, sinful behaviors. Storylines often give the message that these things improve one’s quality of life, or right wrongs where justice is lacking.

So why not participate in them? Watch the people around you, both young and old. See how many are being influenced to try sinful things or continue down the path of sin as a result of the influence movies and television have on them.

And then there are hypocritical Church members.

Hypocrites are those who bear the name ‘Christian’, who look to the Bible for advice on how to live, who openly admit they believe in God, who claim to know

God’s will, who talk about the difference between authentic

Christianity and so-called Christianity, and who know enough about the Bible to teach others.

Now these folks are hypocrites because they do not live according to what they claim to believe or teach others. Yet because of their status in the local church, they become powerful influences on others to follow the ways of sin.

Their influence is so deadly that God tells sincere Christians to stop associating with them in order to protect weaker Christians from the power of their influence.  (Note:

I Corinthians 5:9-13)

The influence hypocrites have outside the Church is just as deadly as it is in the Church. Because of hypocrites,

God’s name and His

Word are laughed at, cursed, discredited, and even hated by unbelievers, or those of other religions. Unbelievers become hardened to the Gospel because so-called

Christians live a life which includes the known, justified, tolerated, and even defended practice of sin. This drives unbelievers farther from God and more and more into a life of selfishness and sin. (Note: Romans 2:17-24)

Do not ignore this truth. Sinners influence would-be sinners to sin. If God let one unrepentant person, one human being who willingly and self-justifyingly practiced known sin into His Eternal

Kingdom, that one person would influence others to join him in rebelling against love and practicing sin. Sin would spread. There would be more victims.

Unjust, unnecessary suffering would increase. And in time, the Eternal Kingdom of God would be no better than the present condition of earth. For the preservation of all that is good (such as love, justice, peace, joy, the provisions of everyone's needs), God must send all who willfully and deliberately practice known sin to their own place.

In Summary

Sin is abominable. There may be little sins and big sins, but all sin victimizes others who had no part in making the decision to sin.

Thus, every sin is an outrageous evil that must be stopped. To stop sin, unrepentant sinners must be separated from those who repent and make it their goal to love as God loves.

The doing of good which secures the well-being of everyone is completely dependent upon the practice of love – love which seeks the good of others in a way that is at least equal to its seeking the good of self. The choice to practice love is required of all who live together in any form of community if each individual’s well-being is to be protected and the greatest possible good of all is to be secure. Sin is the only obstacle to the existence of such loving communities. Since sin is brought into our world and practiced by people, sinners must either repent of sin and be converted to a life of love (righteousness), or they must be removed if sin itself is to be removed.

Repentance or removal are the only two reasonable, workable options for stopping sin in a world where people can freely choose how they will live. In spite of this, many have the idea that they can knowingly and willfully practice sin here on earth and still go to heaven after they die.

They think that when we pass through the gates of Heaven, God will mysteriously change our willful devotion to selfishness into a willful devotion to love. Is this the teaching of the Bible? To me it seems like the thinking of selfish sinners who want the best of both worlds.

The message of the Bible is that after we die physically,

God will put us in a place where we can live to the fullest potential, unhindered by any opposing forces, the way of life we practiced here on earth.

(Note: Isaiah 3:10-11; Matthew 7:21-27, 13:41-43, 25:41-46; Romans

2:4-11; II

Corinthians 5:10; Galatians 6:7-8; Hebrews 10:26-31)

If you have repented of sin, put your faith in God, and are verifying the genuineness of your repentance and faith by dying to self and becoming as godly as you can possibly be in this life, God will bring you into

His Eternal Kingdom. There, your choice to love God supremely and love others as you love yourself can reach its fullest potential, unhindered by the opposing forces of sin and the devil.

If you are committed to keeping selfishness alive so you can enjoy its benefits here on earth, God will send you to hell. There, your self-centeredness can reach its fullest potential, unhindered by the opposing forces of good and God. Such action on God’s part toward the selfishly sinful is both punishment and necessity. It is punishment for willfully victimizing others throughout their lifetime. It is necessity because it is the only suitable way to protect those who want to love as God loves from unnecessary pain and suffering at the hands of unrepentant sinners.

Some people say that the penalty for sin is unfair.

However, the penalty for sin is just that – a penalty. It is not an effort to reclaim the sinner from a life of sin. God has been doing that since

Adam sinned, and He will continue to do that until Jesus returns. And because God does not want any sinner to be exiled from His eternal kingdom, He has gone far beyond all reasonable expectations to win us back from our life of selfishness and sin.

God’s efforts to reclaim us from the practice of sin are made while we are living on this earth. If we resist God’s diligent and loving efforts until our dying day on this earth, we would only go on resisting His efforts if He allowed us into His eternal kingdom. Bringing us into

Heaven will not change us into a loving, caring individual who wants only what is best for

God and our fellowman. Therefore, the penalty is not for our good, but for the good of those who have chosen love as the governing principle of their lives.

Since we all have sinned, we are all under the penalty of sin. There is no escape from this penalty except through the means God has graciously provided. He pleads with us to partake of His provision so we can live with Him and all who love as He loves, forever. Truly, God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. His deepest desire is that we turn from our sinful ways and live.

What about you? Do you understand that sin is so horrible that it can only be dealt with by removing it, just like cancer has to be removed? If God leaves even a little bit, it will grow until it destroys everything. God is love, and His love compels Him to be just. His justice compels Him to exile all practicing sinners from His kingdom. Will you be exiled? Or, will you repent of sin and believe on the Lord Jesus for salvation from the influence, practice, and penalty of sin, so you can live with

God forever? Only you can make this choice for yourself.

No

Other Foundation
Book 1
Toward Repentance of

Sin and Faith in God

Chapter Seven
Justice and Justification

The

Contents Of This Chapter

- Justice and

Justification

- Ending Sin by

Removing Sinners

- God's Plan Promotes

Justice

- God's Plan

Preserves Freedom of Will

- God's Plan Provides the Perfect Substitute

- God's Plan Proves

He Loves Us

- God's Plan Provides

Deliverance
for All Who Repent

- God's Plan Frees Us from
the Influence and Practice of Sin

- God's Plan Is Built on
Relationship-Restoring Forgiveness

- Once Upon a Time

- In Summary

Justice and Justification

Before the world was created, God knew that the most degenerate creature of all would swagger into His Eden and unleash an evil that would wreak havoc for eternity. The accursed seed which this creature planted through the cooperation of Adam and Eve has become the mother of all earthly evil from that day to this. And what is this unleashed evil? Nothing more and nothing less than sin.

Sin is any thought, attitude, choice, word, or deed, or any combination thereof, which results in unnecessary harm being done to anyone who is in any way adversely affected by it. Sin becomes attractive to us when distrust of God is united with self-centeredness. We are guilty of having sinned when we know the right thing to do and either deliberately do what we know is wrong or willfully or negligently do nothing when we ought to do something.

Sin presents itself as the elixir of life – as the remedy for current or future needs, wants, happiness, and security. But sin’s facade is a farce. Hidden under its attractive exterior is a demonic monster which is the cause of all senseless, unjust, and unnecessary poverty, hunger, homelessness, loneliness, emptiness, divorce, broken homes, heartache, dissipation of mind and body, disease, aging, and death itself.

Yet the evil is not only in sin, it is in us as well. The evil in us is exposed when we seek our good at the expense of God and anyone else harmed by our self-centeredness. We have only to look at those our sin unnecessarily harms to see the truth of this. And though most of us don’t think about this, the one we mistreat first and foremost is God, himself.

Our sin contributes to the reason God’s creation is progressively being destroyed, and to the increase of evil in our world.

Choosing to sin is choosing to join with other human beings in spurning

God and consorting with His archenemy, the devil. When we sin, we not only mistreat God, we harm those God loves – from those we supposedly love the most

(spouse, children, extended family, dear friends, valued co-workers), to those with whom we have repeated relationships (friends, neighbors, employer, co-workers, church members), to those we hardly know (people in other ethnic or social groups), and to those we will never know in this life (other nations and people groups). Our sin is part of the reason God endured the heart-wrenching sacrifice of His son, Jesus, on the cross at Calvary.

Our sin is part of the reason Jesus personally endured the sufferings of being beaten, mocked, unjustly condemned to death, and then crucified. And though these things are bad enough, this is just a short list of how God has been and is being mistreated by us when we sin.

The writer of Hebrews said a similar thing when he said that if we go on sinning willfully, we trample underfoot the Son of

God, and regard as unclean the blood of the covenant by which we are sanctified, and insult the Spirit of grace. (Note: Hebrews 10:29)

But our sin not only mistreats God, it unnecessarily harms our fellowman. And though we may not harm others in all the ways listed below, this list gives us some examples of the ways sin unnecessarily hurts others. Therefore, sin breeds political tyranny, oppression, torture, slavery, prejudice, murder, rape, pornography, adultery, physical abuse, brawling, rioting, stealing, lying, cheating, alcoholism, drug addiction, fits of rage, verbal and emotional abuse, taunting, faultfinding, manipulation, exploitation, hate, anger, slander, jealousy, bitterness, impatience, disrespect, unkindness, unforgiveness, gossip, arrogance, vanity, laziness, apathy, negligence, and deceitfulness.

Remove sin, and such things as love, happiness, and peace are free to flourish. Eliminate sin, and patience, kindness, honesty, moral decency, faithfulness, and gentleness will become the norm. Put an end to sin, and mutually satisfying relationships, happy homes, emotionally healthy families, good communities, and a safe world will be possible. Oust sin, and authentic security, wholesome pleasures, the provision of every need, and the promotion of all that is good will fill our world in abundant measure.

But how do we get rid of sin, once and for all? By getting rid of sinners – either through the means of repentance and faith in God, or through banishment.

Ending Sin by Removing Sinners

God created us as rational beings with the ability to think, conceptualize, reason, and remember. With rationality comes the ability to choose, including choosing between what we know is right and what we know is wrong. Sin cannot work its destructive forces without created, rational beings choosing to sin. In other words, where there are no created beings choosing to sin, there is no sin. Therefore, when we, God’s created, rational beings, voluntarily and deliberately choose to repeatedly and unrepentantly do what we know is wrong, the only way to remove sin is to remove us.

Removing sinners to bring an end to sin is what God has chosen to do. In fact, the penalty for sin is removal, banishment, eternal damnation to hell, or as the Apostle Paul says in Romans 6:23, death.

The death referred to is not the end of existence, but the removal from

God’s presence to a place devoid of God and all the good He has for those who love Him and live according to His will. This means that this place of banishment is totally controlled by the forces of evil, the mindset of self-centeredness, and the ways of sin – which is why banishment to this place is the worst form of death.

But you may ask, isn’t it cruel for God to torture sinners by damning them to hell for eternity? Why not just end their life so they are no more?

This is a good suggestion, but it overlooks two facts which are important to God and the end of sin. First, we are created in the image of God, which makes it possible for us to live in intimate fellowship with Him forever. Second, we are created to be loved, valued, respected, protected, and a contributing part of a loving, caring community.

Sending sinners into oblivion rather than to the eternal fires of hell would send the message that these two facts are so unimportant that they can be ignored. To understand this more fully, consider the reasoning below.

The first problem with ending a sinner’s life so he is no more is that God created us in His own image, which makes it possible for us to live in intimate fellowship with Him forever. Now, being created in the image of

God does not mean we are exactly like God. It means there are certain things about God which are also true about us. One of those things is, once we are born, we live forever. And it is this likeness to God, along with all the other likenesses, that enable us to participate in a never-ending relationship of intimate fellowship with God. Therefore, like God, our life has no end, and like God, we can enter into and maintain meaningful and intimate relationships.

To say our life has no end does not mean we will not die physically. However, physical death is not the end of our life, it is the end of our life in this world for the purpose of limiting the amount of time we have on earth. Such a limit has three purposes. First, it gives us a designated period of time in which we can respond to God’s invitation to repent and put our faith in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ – which enables us to be reconciled to God and equipped to live with Him forever. Second, it limits the amount of sin we can commit or teach and encourage others to commit

– thus slowing the spread of sin on the earth. And third, it limits the amount of harm we can do to others.

Yet in spite of dying physically, we are created to go into the next world and live forever. Therefore, the solution to our sin problem is not oblivion after physical death, but repentance and conversion while we yet live in this world. And in a similar way, the solution to the world’s sin problem is to remove unrepentant sinners to a place all their own – where they can no longer harm those affected by their selfishness and sin.

The second problem with ending a sinner’s life so he is no more is that it would devalue God’s purpose for life and life itself, and such devaluing would encourage sin rather than discourage it.

Think about this: what self-centered person wouldn’t choose the pleasures and treasures of sin, even though they are temporary, if they knew that at the end of their time on earth they would go off to oblivion?

The reality is, if life has no value, if we only exist for today, if there is no judgment and no lasting punishment for wrongdoing, if we can eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die – and that’s it, why do what you know is right when doing what you know is wrong is so immediately rewarding?

Therefore, because the rewards of sin – such as fame, fortune, power, luxury, happiness, pleasure, excitement, and entertainment – are so gratifying, and if we could be selfish and sinful without the fear of eternal consequences, the problem of sin would be even worse than it is today.

However,

God’s purpose for life and life itself are precious, and therefore worthy of being pursued, treasured, and protected

– not only for ourselves, but for every other human being who has ever been born or ever will be born on this earth. In like manner, relationships built on mutual love and trust are precious and worthy of being pursued, treasured, and protected.

We see the truth of this in the command, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” and in God’s hatred of sin, and in God’s promise of a final judgment where sinners will be separated from the righteous as sheep are separated from the goats. We see the truth of this in

Christ’s death on our behalf – a death which brings us redemption from the penalty, power, and practice of sin so we can be reconciled to God and live with Him forever. We see the truth of this in the fact that we have been created in the image of God and given the gift of being eternal once we are born.

We confirm our belief in, and commitment to, this truth by choosing faith in God over going our own way, in choosing the way of love over self-centeredness, and in choosing fellowship with God over the pleasures and treasures of sin.

This raises another question. Couldn’t God take away our ability to choose between right and wrong so we would only do what is right and good? Yes He could. But if He did, we wouldn’t be rational beings anymore, and we wouldn’t have the capacity to love.

Without the ability to choose, we would be programmed beings. We would be like computers programmed to function according to their designer’s wishes, or like animals acting according to instinct. This would put a stop to sin, but it would also put a stop to rational, freely-chosen, voluntarily-shared, intimate relationships of communion and companionship built on mutual love and trust. To those who know the unequaled worth of voluntarily-shared, intimate relationships built on mutual love and trust, solving the sin problem by taking away a person’s ability and freedom to choose is no solution at all. Truly, the prospect of a loving community, a love-ruled kingdom, a people group who love God supremely and all others as themselves, is so attractive that it overshadows the horrendously painful cost of sending those who want no part of such a community to their own place where they can live self-centered lives for the rest of time. Therefore, the most reasonable way to protect our ability to choose between right and wrong so that we are able to engage in meaningful relationships built on mutual love and trust, and solve the sin problem at the same time, is to banish unrepentant sinners.

Keep in mind, however, that the freedom to choose provides the opportunity to change sides. Having the ability to choose means we can avoid banishment by voluntarily and deliberately repenting of sin, turning from our sinful ways, trusting in God, receiving His gracious gift of salvation from the penalty of sin, taking hold of the freedom He gives from the power and practice of sin, and pursuing a life of godly love. It means we can, by an act of our will, set our mind on God and godliness rather than self and selfishness. It means we are capable of loving God supremely and verifying that love by our freely-chosen words and deeds. Freedom to choose gives us the power to affect our future – that is, to sow what we wish to reap, for surely we will reap what we have sown.

However, damning sinners to eternal banishment in hell creates an excruciatingly painful problem for God. As loving parents deeply love each of their children, so God loves every one of us. As loving parents hope for the best possible relationship with each of their children, so

God wants a voluntarily chosen, deeply personal, meaningfully intimate, emotionally impassioned, unequivocally trusting, mutually satisfying, never-ending, reciprocal relationship with each one of us. Nothing less is satisfactory. And because He loves us so much, losing just one of us to the place of no return breaks

His heart.

Yet in spite of what God wants, we, of our own free-will, have chosen to sabotage our relationship with Him. He created us, yet we take what belongs to Him and go off on our own to live as we please in order to please ourselves. He loves us, yet we distrust His love and doubt His motives – preferring the pleasures of self-centeredness for a season over the riches of a loving relationship with Him for eternity. He has given us every reason to do what we know is right, yet we deliberately and repeatedly do what we know is wrong. We are willful, intentional sinners. Therefore, God faces the loss of every one of us to banishment in hell. (Note: Mark 12:28-31; Romans

3:23, 6:23,

8:14-17; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20; Ephesians 5:25-32)

Driven by love, God has taken corrective action to solve this desperate situation wherein all His beloved earthly beings are doomed to eternal banishment. Through the death and resurrection of His son,

Jesus

Christ, God has made it possible for us to be rescued from the power and practice of sin in this life, and the punishment for sin in the life to come.

He has re-opened the door to relationship so we can be reconciled to

Him and enjoy a mutually satisfying love relationship with

Him, forever.

And, He has made available to us everything we need to live a love-controlled life from the day of our salvation, forward. And in doing all this, He has done for us what we could not do for ourselves.

Therefore, by His power, through His wisdom, and because of His love, God has solved the sin problem. His solution is truly the best solution, as we can see by the fact that it satisfies the following important requirements:

1.   Justice must be served.

2.   Freedom of will must not be compromised.

3.   A perfect substitute must take the sinners place in paying the penalty for sin.

4.   It must be evident to all that God infinitely loves us and wants a mutually satisfying relationship with us.

5.   Salvation from the penalty of sin must be granted to all who repent of sin, trust in God, and devote themselves to loving as God loves.

6.   Repentant sinners must be freed from the enslaving power and practice of sin.

7.

Forgiveness must be complete, that is, it must result in a restored relationship between

God and the forgiven sinner.

God's Plan Promotes Justice

God’s plan to rescue sinners from the penalty of sin and restore them to full membership in

His family so they can live with Him forever is unquestionably and indisputably just. Consider the supporting evidence to this fact.

When asked about the greatest commandment of all, Jesus responded by saying, “The foremost is, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength,’ and the second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these." (Note: Mark 12:30-31)

Sin violates these two commandments. Therefore, sin’s crime is the unjust and unnecessary harm it does to others, beginning with God and extending to those we hardly know or do not know. The sinner’s crime is willfully doing what he knows is wrong, or neglecting to do what he knows is right, so that unjust and unnecessary harm befalls all who are affected by his sinful choices and behavior. Therefore, doing what we know is wrong is not simply breaking the law, it is also causing harm to others that they should not have to experience and endure. Therefore, sin is wicked.

Indeed, it is reprehensible.

Because every sin, great or small, victimizes someone, every sinner who knowingly sins is guilty of deliberately (willfully and knowingly) harming others. Because sin is driven by distrust of God and self-centeredness, every sinner is guilty of unnecessarily harming others for selfish reasons.

Now, it is not the size of the sin, but the willingness of the sinner to self-centeredly (or selfishly) and unnecessarily harm others which makes him a threat to the well-being of those affected by his choices and behavior. Therefore, to both punish sinners and protect their victims from further ill-treatment, every sinner must be banished to a place where they no longer endanger the well-being of others, including God.

Most of us believe that the size of the sin ought to determine the degree of our guilt. In other words, we judge the degree of sin’s evil by the amount of harm it seems to do.

For example, we judge rape as horrendously evil while lying is judged as bad, but not nearly as bad as rape. On this basis of judgement, we believe rape deserves a more severe punishment than lying. Therefore, it makes no sense to us that God would send the liar to hell along with the rapist. In fact, we are skeptical of God’s sense of justice in condemning the liar to hell when what he has done doesn’t even come close to being as evil as what the rapist has done – at least in our estimation.

Who has the problem,

God or us? We do. We do not like to decide how evil something is on the basis of motive (distrust of God, self-centered self-seeking), or on the basis of inconsideration for the well-being of others (willfully doing what we know is wrong at the expense of others), because it makes the liar as guilty of eternal damnation to hell as the rapist. And of course, if the liar is as guilty of eternal damnation as the rapist, we are as guilty as the rapist, too.

To have to admit that we, small-time sinners at worst in comparison to big-time sinners, are as guilty as murderers and rapists, is not something we want to do. In fact, we can’t imagine thinking of ourselves as that bad. And so we don’t. We maintain our sense of minimal guilt by believing the degree of guilt is, and ought to be, determined by the size of the sin. We reinforce our sense of minimal guilt by seeing ourselves as well-intentioned sinners who make mistakes, even though we make the same mistakes (commit the same sins)

over and over again.

And we comfort ourselves by seeing ourselves as far better than the more heinous sinners who deliberately do what they know is wrong.

Therefore, we convince ourselves we would have to tell a lot of lies to equal one murder and take advantage of a lot of people to equal one rape. And so we do tell a lot of lies, or continue to commit whatever other favorite sins we have. And in so doing, we force others to endure our hurtfulness without relief, which after a time makes some of our victims feel so much pain that it’s as if we murdered or raped them.

Thankfully,

God is wise where we are foolish. God judges the evil of the sinner, not by the degree of harm done, but by the willingness of the sinner to deliberately victimize another person for selfish reasons. He judges, not by the size of the sin, but according to the motive whereby the sinner willfully places his own interests above the good of others. This is why Jesus makes love of God and others the two greatest commandments, and why Paul says, “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Note: Romans

13:10)

Truly, the threat to the well-being of each one of us is not the size of sin, or sin itself, but the person who will willingly, intentionally, selfishly, or even carelessly do what he knows is wrong, and in so doing, willingly, intentionally, selfishly, or even carelessly harm others for his own benefit. Therefore, the liar is as evil as the rapist because both willingly and deliberately promote and protect their own interests at the expense of others.

For this reason, justice demands that every sinner, regardless of the size of sins committed, be punished by banishment to a place such as hell. Justice demands that sin’s punishment be as certain as death so only a fool would think he can get away with sinning. Justice demands that sin’s punishment be impartially applied without regard to nationality, ethnic group, color, family background, social status, economic status, or religious affiliation. Justice demands that sin’s penalty be equally applied to those who have heard the Gospel and those who haven’t, to those who are glad they’ve sinned and those who are sad they’ve sinned, and to those who repent as well as those who don’t.

This may seem severe, but it is a necessary application of justice given our inclination to act selfishly, to knowingly and willfully sin, and to determine how good we are by comparing ourselves to those we deem worse than us. Indeed, only when justice is served will the world know that every sinner will be punished for any and every sin willfully, knowingly, and deliberately committed. And only when justice brings us to the new heavens and new earth will God and all who live with Him forever be protected from the unjust, unnecessary suffering caused by sinners.

It is true that God is patient and merciful with unrepentant sinners, even though they continue to cause others unnecessary suffering while He pleads with them and waits for them to repent. But don’t ever take this to mean God is soft on sin. It means He is strong on pursuing every sinner and ensuring they have every opportunity to repent and be saved from the penalty of their sin, because He doesn’t want any sinner to die in his sin. (Note: II Peter 3:1-9)

God wants to rescue sinners from the penalty of sin and restore them to full membership in

His family. He wants each one of us to live with Him forever. His plan for doing this begins with a just punishment of sinners. Every sin is equally penalized (the penalty of sin is death, that is, eternal separation from God)

and every sinner equally punished because all sin is the result of sinners voluntarily and deliberately doing what they know is wrong at the unjust and unnecessary expense of others. And because unrepentant sinners would contaminate heaven with the evils of sin just as they have contaminated the earth, God banishes them to hell where they can only harm each other by their self-centeredness and sin.

God's Plan Preserves Freedom of Will

This matter of choice was looked at earlier in the chapter. Nevertheless, it is of such importance as to deserve a second look. Let us begin by considering several truths concerning relationships.

First, far more often than not, when people approach the end of life their focus turns to relationships – the value of relationships, the improvement of weak ones, the repairing of damaged ones, and the restoring of broken ones. Second, when people feel lonely, they most often look for a meaningful relationship of communion and companionship to remove their loneliness. If they cannot find fulfillment in a relationship, they then look for a sense of comfort and love in other things (i.e., drugs, alcohol, food, possessions, work).

Third,

God made humankind for one primary purpose – shared relationships of communion and companionship built on mutual love and trust. Fourth, meaningfully-intimate, mutually-trusting, mutually-satisfying, reciprocal relationships of communion and companionship are of unequaled value to the happiness and well-being of everyone.

But to have a meaningful relationship with anyone, we must be able to love. We must be able to promote and protect their good. If we do not seek their good, that is if we do nothing when we should do something or if we deliberately harm them, we will give them just cause to distrust us. When we give them just cause to distrust us, we also give them sufficient reason to believe we do not really love them.

In other words, our unloving, selfish, unkind choices and behavior drive them away from us rather than endear them to us. Our sin drives a wedge between others and us rather than drawing them closer to us. Our sin damages the relationship rather than strengthens it. Therefore, being able to love is vital to the promotion and protection of shared relationships. And remember, love fulfills the law. (Note: Romans 13:10)

Yet there is another side. Being able to love is not enough. God could have created us so that we could do nothing other than what is loving and right. But that is not enough when it comes to being loved. And here is where we clearly see the importance of free-will.

To feel loved, to be certain that we are loved, to have an unwaveringly secure sense of acceptance and belonging in a relationship, we must be able to know that the one loving us is loving us of his or her own free will. This means that for each party in the relationship to feel loved, each party must have the ability to choose who they want to be in relationship with, the depth of relationship desired (i.e., marriage, friendship, casual, superficial), how they will treat the other person, the extent of self-sacrifice, if they will be faithful to the agreed expectations of the relationship, and how they will handle failure.

Freedom to choose these things is the only way to validate that love and not self-interest, or love and not appeasement, or love and not jealousy, or love and not fear of loneliness, is the motive behind seeking relationship.

Therefore, mutually-satisfying relationships can exist only where there is freedom of will – where each party has the choice to love or not love, yet chooses to love.

Remove freedom of will and people would be like computers or robots who think, choose, and do according to the way they are programmed. Assuming God is doing the programming, people would think, say, and do what is loving and right.

Yet they would not do what is loving and right because they wanted to, but because they could not do anything else. They would feel no attraction, affection, devotion, or passion toward anyone – only instinctive duty.

They would seek the good of others out of unintended obligation, not because they cared. They would serve and please out of involuntary servitude, not from kindness or tenderness or compassion. Experiencing deeds of love on this basis may be enjoyable for a time, but it holds no hope for the deeply satisfying joy gained from being voluntarily and cheerfully loved.

Therefore, no one, including God, finds lasting, satisfying joy in being treated in loving ways by someone who has no choice in whom or how he loves. We all, God included, want to be loved voluntarily and cheerfully, not grudgingly or out of necessity. It is for this very reason that God created us with the ability to choose

– with a free will which enables us to decide if we will love, whom we will love, and the depth of relationship we will seek with those who respond to our love.

Yet in creating us with the ability to choose, God risked losing everything, because inherent in our ability to choose love is the ability to choose self-centeredness.

Therefore, to gain voluntarily-chosen, deeply-personal, meaningfully-intimate, mutually-trusting, mutually-satisfying, reciprocal relationships of communion and companionship with us, God risked losing us to self-centeredness and sin.

From

God’s perspective, loving relationships are so valuable, so precious, so in the interest of everyone, that they outweigh the losses caused by freedom of will.

And the losses are many, because many choose self-centeredness over love and sin over doing what they know is right. But, freedom of will also gives us the ability to repent of our selfishness and sin. We can, through an act of our will, put our faith in God and choose the way of love.

Therefore, having been created to experience the greatest possible good from shared relationships built on mutual love and trust, God’s plan to save us from the penalty of sin accomplishes its purpose without compromising our freedom of will.

God's Plan Provides the Perfect Substitute

Any plan to rescue us from the penalty of sin must do at least two things. First, it must ensure justice is served. And second, it must convince us that sin will not be tolerated and that the motives behind sin are heinous. Therefore, God made eternal banishment the punishment for rebelling against Him and for willingly hurting others when we know what is right, yet do what is wrong.

This means every sinner owes the debt of eternal damnation, separated from the presence of God.

If

God’s plan is going to be both just and accomplish its intended purpose of justifying sinners, then not even He can forgive sin. Every single sin must be paid for.

He can forgive sinners, however, but only if someone provides a perfect substitute to take the sinner’s place in paying the penalty for the sinner’s sin. And, in keeping with God’s purpose, the only perfect substitute is a perfectly sinless and therefore guiltless person who voluntarily takes the place of a self-centered, willfully-sinful sinner.

Not wanting to lose a single one of us to banishment in hell, God provided the perfect substitute to take our place. And that perfect substitute is God, himself, who in the person of Jesus Christ became the perfect substitute who willingly, lovingly, and compassionately paid the penalty for our sin.

And why did He have to pay the penalty for our sin?  Because there is no human being who could take our place. Every man, woman, and child who has ever lived has sinned. This means each one of us must pay sin’s penalty for our own sins. So even if we wanted to pay sin’s penalty for a loved one, we couldn’t. This leaves God as the only other being who shares enough likeness with us to be a legitimate substitute in paying sin’s penalty on our behalf. In addition, He is the only one who could enter our world as a human, face our kind of temptation, and remain sinless.

Choosing the right time, Jesus Christ came to earth in human form. He was fathered by the

Holy

Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He was raised by ordinary parents in an ordinary home. In his adult years, he brought God’s love and truth to many through his words and miraculous deeds. Yet he was despised by the religious leaders of his day, falsely accused, condemned as a threat to

Rome’s rule, cruelly tortured, and unjustly crucified. Upon dying, he descended into

Hades (the domain of the dark forces of evil). On the third day he was raised from the dead. Now he is in heaven with his Father, Jehovah, our God. By means of his condemnation, crucifixion, trip to Hades, and subsequent resurrection,

Jesus, the perfect substitute, paid the penalty for every sinner’s sin. This means we can be forgiven and freed from sin’s penalty.

Jesus’

horrible death and descent into Hades was the act by which God took our place in paying the debt we owed for our own sin. Jesus’ resurrection was the act by which God broke the power of sin’s hold over us and guaranteed us eternal life with Him and all who love as He loves. (Note: Romans 3:21-26)

For a study on how one man, Jesus, could pay the penalty of sin for all mankind, read the following:(1) Romans 5:12-21; (2)

THE DAILY STUDY BIBLE SERIES,

The Letter to the Romans, William Barclay, pp. 77-82; (3) TYNDALE

NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARIES, The Epistle of Paul to the

Romans, F.F. Bruce, pp. 125-133; (4) COMMENTARY ON THE

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS,

Charles Hodge, D.D., pp. 142-191.

God's Plan Proves He Loves Us

Senselessly, we’ve distrusted God’s motives, discarded His love, disregarded His wisdom, disobeyed

His commands, and distanced ourselves from Him so we could go our own way and do what we pleased, as we pleased, when we pleased. We have favored self-love over God’s love, self-determination over God’s authority, and sin over doing what we know is right. We are, by our own choosing, intentional sinners who have deliberately and repeatedly done what we know is wrong; and we’ve done it at the expense of others. We are, because of our sinful choices and behavior, justly judged to be debtors – sin debtors – owing what can only be paid at the expense of our lives. Therefore, because of our indebtedness, we are condemned to eternal banishment from God’s presence and all who love as

He loves.

Yet

God stepped in, and on our behalf He graciously paid this debt which we could pay only at the terrifying cost of eternal damnation. Though this was a debt He didn’t owe,

He paid it just as fully as if He did. Though the payment of this debt cost Him the unthinkable when it would only have cost us what we deserved, He paid it as if it were a privilege for Him to do so.

Why would God pay an outrageous debt incurred through traitorous rebellion against Him? Why would He sacrifice that which was dearest to pay a debt for which He had no responsibility? Consider the following two reasons in answer to these questions.

First,

He paid our sin debt because He dearly loves us like a loving father loves his children. As a loving father, He fervently seeks our good, and the good of everyone affected in any way by whatever He does for us personally. As a loving father,

He longingly desires a shared, intimate relationship of communion and companionship with us. As a loving father, He zealously does everything feasible to make it possible for us to be reconciled to Him when we alienate ourselves from Him. As a loving father, He earnestly calls to us, pleads with us, woos us, and comes to us in various ways in an effort to convince us to give up our rebellion and return to Him and His way of love. Therefore, as a father who loves His children, God willingly and eagerly came to our aid and paid our debt so we would not have to spend eternity separated from

Him.

Second,

He paid our sin debt because He loves us like a loving husband loves his wife. As a loving husband, He yearns for fellowship, companionship, and an endless love relationship with each of us – the kind of intimate, mutually-satisfying, mutually-loving, and mutually-faithful relationship that lovers passionately desire with one another. In other words, He doesn’t want to have to live without us. So He stepped in and took our place, paying the penalty for our sin so we could be forgiven and live with Him forever.

What greater proof do we need that God loves us – that He loves us more than we’ve ever been or ever will be loved by anyone in this life? Yet His love does not begin and end with this gracious payment of our sin debt. He does not expect us to be content with this one time show of love, even though it is an unsurpassed show of love.

Therefore,

God not only saves us from the penalty of sin, He reconciles us to Himself and restores our relationship with Him to one of mutual love and trust. He not only restores us to the status of adult children in His family, He takes up residence in us so our fellowship can be deeply intimate and uninterrupted. He becomes our provider and protector so that whether we face abundance or poverty, praise or persecution, good health or sickness, life or death, our lives are completely safe in His hands. As our lover, He endlessly does everything necessary to make the relationship we share our most treasured, intimate, satisfying, and secure relationship. Surely, God’s love is wondrous, immeasurable, and endless. (Note:

John 3:16, 15:13; Romans 5:6-8; Ephesians 2:1-10; 1 John

4:9-10)

God wants us to know

He paid the penalty of sin on our behalf – out of love for us. He wants us to know that though we ought to fear Him, we no longer have to fear eternal damnation if we will repent, trust in Jesus’ redemptive work, turn from our sin, and pursue godliness. He wants us to know He is eagerly and longingly inviting us to share an intimate, mutually satisfying, mutually faithful relationship of communion and companionship with Him. And He wants us to know all this so we will repent of our rebellion and sin, turn from our wicked ways, and come into the warm embrace of His love. Therefore, God solved our sin problem in such a way as to convince us of His love – a love which is all the more appealing because He never allows it to compromise justice.

The wise see God’s love as perfectly pure, and the hungry feast on it. If you cannot see the worth of God’s love, or understand it, ask God to help you. Make

Ephesians 3:14-19, your daily prayer until you understand the depth of love God has for you.

(Note: II Corinthians 5:14-15; I John 4:18,19)

God's Plan Provides Deliverance for All Who

Repent

God is very patient with us because He does not want anyone to suffer sin’s penalty of banishment.

He wants everyone to come to repentance so they can be forgiven and reconciled to Himself – living with Him and all who love as He loves, forever. Therefore, God uses His gracious loving-kindness rather than

His formidableness (that part of His character which arouses fear and dread in us) to try and persuade us to repent. (Note: II Peter 3:9;

Romans 2:4)

However,

God will not bring even one unrepentant sinner into His eternal kingdom. He will not forgive anyone who knows what is right yet willfully, deliberately, repeatedly, and unrepentantly continues doing what he knows is wrong. To do so would be to unleash an evil that would ruin heaven just as sin has ruined the earth. The nature of sin and the destructive forces that are unleashed by the self-centeredness of sinners demands that only those who repent of sin can receive God’s saving grace. (Note: I John 3:1-10)

To repent of sin is to change your mind about the nature of sin. Where once you believed it wise to do what you knew was wrong, you now choose to believe it is the most foolish, self-centered, unnecessarily-harmful-to-others thing you could do. To repent of sin is to change your mind about the character of God. Where once you believed

Him harsh and untrustworthy, you now choose to believe He is loving and good.

To repent of sin is to change your mind about yourself. Where once you believed self-centeredness was vital, now you choose to believe the denial of self is vital. Where once you believed you knew better and could care for yourself better than God, now you choose to place your well-being in His hands and live according to His Word.

Having been created with the ability to choose, we will continue to choose self-centeredness over love and sin over doing what we know is right if we do not repent.

Therefore, any plan to solve our sin problem must place the requirement of repentance on every sinner who wishes to receive God’s redemptive salvation, provided through

His son, Jesus Christ, and reconcile us to God.

It is possible all this talk about repentance is either unfamiliar or makes you feel uncomfortable. And either case is possible because many teachers and followers of current Christianity wish to de-emphasize repentance or leave it out altogether. In fact, many in the Christian religion say that placing any requirement on God’s free gift of salvation, such as repentance, is heresy.

But is it heresy? Can something be heresy when God, speaking in the Old Testament, John the

Baptist,

Jesus, Jesus’ disciples, and the Apostle Paul all taught repentance as a requirement for salvation? (Note: II Chronicles 7:14; Proverbs 28:13;

Isaiah

55:6-7; Ezekiel 33:11; Matthew 3:2-11; 4:17; Luke 5:31-32; 13:1-5;

15:7;

24:45-47; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:29-32; 8:20-23; 17:24-31; 20:18-21;

26:16-20;

Romans 2:4; II Timothy 2:24-26; Hebrews 6:1-2)

Ought a sinner be forgiven and released from having to pay the penalty for his sin by agreeing or believing that God is God, that Christ died to pay the penalty for every sinner’s sin, that no one can pay their own sin debt apart from spending eternity in hell, and that depending on Christ’s payment is essential for release from condemnation? Ought an adulterous husband be forgiven and taken back by his wife with open arms by agreeing or believing that she is his wife, that he has been unfaithful, that he should love her exclusively, and that he needs her forgiveness before it is okay for him to come back home?

At first glance, the answer to both questions seems to be yes. But think for a moment. Can an adulterous husband enter into a reconciled relationship with his wife by agreeing with or believing in certain truths? And in like manner, can a willful sinner enter into a reconciled relationship with God by agreeing with or believing in certain truths? The answer to these two questions is a resounding no. Why? Because agreeing with certain facts or believing in certain truths does not automatically result in changed behavior.

Think about it – what unfaithful man wouldn’t gladly agree with certain facts and believe in certain truths if he could have his wife, his family, his home, and his adulterous relationship too? And in like manner, what willful sinner wouldn’t gladly agree with certain Bible truths about God, sin, Christ, and eternity if it meant he could have heaven while continuing to practice some of his favorite sins here on earth?

Once again, think about this – if we would tell a wife not to take her husband back as long as he wanted to continue his adulterous relationship, why would we expect God to do differently with us? If we think it reasonable to judge the agreeing husband as unworthy of restoration because of his continued adulterous behavior, shouldn’t we think it reasonable for God to judge us in the same way?

If we can see the difference between the husband who says some right words and does some right things in an effort to get back home, and a husband who is genuinely repentant and proves it by ending his adulterous relationships, can’t

God see the difference too? If we know that a wife who would take her husband back under these conditions would be setting herself up for more unnecessary heartache and suffering, can’t we know the same would happen to God if He took us back under these conditions?

So why all the confusion and disagreement when it comes to repentance as the first step in receiving the gift of eternal salvation? It is my opinion that we want freedom from the penalty of sin without having to be holy. We want eternal life in heaven without having to be godly in this life. We want God to be faithful to us without having to be faithful to Him. We want God to love us unconditionally without having to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We want God to do good for us according to our expectations without having to do good for Him according to His expectations. We want to be served without having to serve. We want God to pay a debt He does not owe to free us from a debt we cannot pay – with no strings attached. In other words, we want the best of both worlds. We want to be able to sin enough here on earth to make us happy in this life, and then go to heaven when we die to make us happy in eternity.

Such reasoning is faulty in that it disregards specific truths clearly stated in

God’s word, shows disrespect for the great cost to God of His gift of eternal life, furthers selfishness under the guise of religion, works against loving

God as we ought, and encourages shrewd bargaining rather than saving faith.

And why isn’t it saving faith? Because saving faith changes our life – from the outside in and from the inside out. It changes our thinking, our desires, our motives, our speech, and our behavior. It changes our allegiance from self to God.

It changes our focus from self-centeredness to love. It changes our desire from doing as we please to doing what we know is right for the good of everyone affected by what we do. It opens the door for God to come in and deliver us from the power and practice of sin as well as the penalty of sin.

The reality is, without repentance, we will think today as we thought yesterday. We will live by the same underlying principles now as before. We may modify a few principles, change a few behaviors, and make some different choices, but if we never repent of pride, we will continue to treat ourselves as superior and God as inferior. If we never repent of self-centeredness, we will continue to value selfishness above love. If we never repent of our distrust of God, we will continue to distrust Him when He doesn’t live up to our expectations. If we never repent of our sin, we will continue to practice those sins we think essential to a happy, secure, peaceful life. And if we never change our mind about the reliability of God’s Word, we will continue to go our own way when we think God’s Word points us in the wrong way.

Saving faith begins with repentance. Repentance brings us into a reconciled relationship with God – through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, and it leads us into a serious pursuit of godliness that is recognized in a changed life that the

Bible describes as Christ-likeness. (Note: Acts 2:37-38; Titus 2:11-14;

Matthew

7:21-27; Romans 6:1-18, 8:12-13; 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, 7:1;

Philippians

3:7-14)

God's Plan Frees Us from the Enslaving Power and

Practice of Sin

God’s plan to save sinners did not begin and end with saving us from the penalty of sin.

His plan saves sinners from the penalty, enslaving power, and practice of sin.

Indeed, to save sinners only from the penalty of sin would be irresponsible, for it would deny the value of love, ignore the importance of justice, reinforce self-centeredness, leave saved sinners unchanged – generally speaking, and leave the saved sinner’s part of the world in the same dire condition as it was before he was saved. Therefore, saving sinners from the penalty of sin without freeing them from the enslaving power and practice of sin makes a mockery of both love and justice.

For example, though saved from the penalty of sin, the born-again sinner would still be ruled by his selfishness, pride, ungodly passions, unloving attitudes, worldly thinking, and other ungodly ways. This would make a mockery of love, because the born-again sinner would continue to be unloving in his treatment of others.

In a similar way, to save sinners from the penalty of sin without freeing them from the enslaving power and practice of sin makes a mockery of justice. The punishment for sin is death (eternal banishment in hell), and every sinner owes this debt. To maintain justice, the debt must be paid. This is especially true for those who seek to be saved from this debt, for to forgive the sin debt without paying the debt is simply unjust. Therefore, Jesus died on the cross to pay our sin debt – not so we could go on sinning without fear of eternal banishment, but so that

God could forgive us without violating justice.

To save sinners from the penalty of sin without freeing them from the power and practice of sin is to prevent them from becoming like Christ – which is what makes them a

Christian. To become like Christ, sinners need a changed mind, a changed heart, changed thinking, changed desires, and a changed life whereby they increasingly become more and more like Jesus. And to do that, sinners must be saved from the penalty of sin as well as the enslaving power and the practice of sin.

To save sinners from the penalty of sin without freeing them from the power and practice of sin is to imply that such evils as selfishness, pride, anger, envy, lying, cheating, and hidden forms of sexual immorality are unavoidable and therefore acceptable ways for Christians to live. In other words, only saving sinners from the penalty of sin sends the message that hell is the evil to be avoided, not sin and all the harm it does to our relationship with God, to our own character, ways of thinking, and choices, and to those who are the victims of our sinful ways.

To make the avoidance of punishment the primary motive for trusting in Jesus for eternal salvation is to perpetuate selfishness. Therefore, to save sinners from the penalty of sin without freeing them from the power and practice of sin is to leave them in the same selfish condition as before being saved.

God’s intention for born-again sinners is that they be changed into the likeness of Christ so that they will, on a daily basis and in practical ways, love those around them as they love themselves. In other words, God wants saved sinners to treat their families, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and fellow citizens in ways that mirror His love for us. He wants them to seek the good of others just as He seeks our good. Therefore, to make this kind of life possible God saves us from the power and practice of sin as well as the penalty of sin.

It is irrational to think that the God who commands us to love Him with all our being and to love our neighbor as ourselves would rescue us from the penalty of sin without also rescuing us from the power and practice of sin. After all, it is in being saved from the power and practice of sin that makes it possible for us to live according to God’s commands.

Does this mean that once we are saved from the power and practice of sin we will no longer sin or even want to sin? Does this mean we won’t have to intentionally resist the devil, flee youthful lusts, and put off the old nature with its sinful ways?

Does this mean we won’t have to deliberately and purposefully pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, and put on Christ-likeness. No!

No! No!

We must still do all of this. What changes when we are saved from the power and practice of sin is that we are no longer slaves of sin, which means we no longer have to sin, and we are able to pursue godliness. (Note: James

4:7; Romans

6; 2 Timothy 2:22; Ephesians 4:17-32)

Therefore, putting an end to sin does not begin in heaven – it begins when a sinner repents, trusts in Jesus for eternal salvation from the penalty, power, and practice of sin, and is born again. It begins in you and in me when we repent of sin, receive

God’s gracious gift of salvation, place our life in

God’s hands, and proceed to live according to God’s Word so as to become holy in all our behavior just as

God is holy.

The reality is,

Jesus’ death on the cross both paid the sin debt and broke the enslaving power of sin over us. The power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power of

God that protects us from ever again being tempted with a temptation too strong for us to resist. The Holy Spirit enters our being and empowers us to do what we know is right as we choose to do what we know is right. The Bible, which is living and active, teaches us what God wants us to know, it reproves and corrects us, it is our primary tool for training in godly living, and it gives us the means to resist the devil. Prayer tells God where we think we need help in living the Christ-like life here on earth. The Body of Christ (the local church) is our support group in dying to self and coming fully alive to the ways of God. In all these things, God displays His commitment to save us from the enslaving power and practice of sin along with saving us from the penalty of sin. (Note: Titus 2:11-14; 1 Corinthians 10:13;

2 Peter 1:2-11;

Romans 6:1-14)

God understands we are human. Therefore, He does not deal with us according to our sins, but as a father has compassion on his children, so God has compassion on us as we make an honest effort to live according to His will and word. And yet, as born-again

Christians, He wants us to go forward and sin no more. He knows that in our humanness we will sin, but He also knows we no longer have to sin because He has saved us, not only from the penalty of sin, but also from the enslaving power and practice of sin – in this life and in the life to come.

God's Plan Is Built on

Relationship-Restoring Forgiveness

Most often, forgiveness must go both ways because of the failure of both sides to love as they ought. This is not the case between God and us. He has not failed in any way to love us as love loves. In fact, He loves us perfectly, fully, selflessly, and faithfully. We are the ones who have failed to love. We are the ones who have sinned – not just against our fellowmen, but also against Him. He has desired and sought relationship with us, from the beginning. We are the ones who have pulled away, ignoring His presence and resenting His demands – as if they were a difficult burden or an impediment to happiness or are harmful to our well-being. And yet, His demands are the path to an abundantly better life that can only be obtained by trusting Him implicitly and living according to

His will and word. Therefore, God needs no forgiveness from us. We are the ones who need forgiveness from Him. (Note: John 10:10)

The purpose of forgiveness is to bring reconciliation and restoration to damaged and broken relationships. Forgiveness accomplishes this by calling both sides to resolve their differences, repair the damage done by past wrongs committed, and return to treasuring, nurturing, and protecting the relationship.

To accomplish this, the one who has done wrong must repent of his wrong, confess his sin, repair or make amends for whatever damage he has done, and demonstrate his commitment to the good of the other through his subsequent words and deeds. The one wronged must lay to rest the remembrance of what was done and the hurts associated with it. He must put out the welcome mat, open the door to re-established trust, and renew his efforts at building a meaningful relationship of communion and companionship with the one who sinned against him. These steps enable both parties to begin anew to build their relationship on mutual love and trust.

Unfortunately, many people think forgiveness is necessary while reconciliation is optional.

Nothing could be further from the truth. And we see how true this is in

God’s Word and in His life-example of love.

Love seeks the good of others, friend and foe alike, just as God seeks the good of everyone, believer and unbeliever alike. However, seeking a person’s good does not mean we have a good relationship with them. It simply means we are committed to living according to the principle of love in spite of their attitude and behavior toward us. The perfect example of this is God. He is unequaled in loving everyone, including those who reject, and even hate Him. But do not confuse His love with forgiveness. He does not forgive everyone He loves. In fact, far more are unforgiven due to unrepentance than are forgiven.

The proof that forgiveness and reconciliation are inseparable is found throughout the

Bible, but two verses will be enough to make the point.

In

Matthew 5:45,

Jesus tells us we are to love our enemies (seek their good)

just as God loves His enemies. Jesus verifies God’s love for His enemies by pointing out that God causes the sun to shine and rain to fall on the righteous and unrighteous alike. This means God seeks the good of everyone by providing them with the basic necessities of life, be they friend or foe. In return He receives praise, honor, trust, love, companionship, and intimate communion from

His friends (the kind of behavior which promotes and protects meaningful relationships). However, from His foes He receives distrust, disrespect, hostility, hatred, and rejection (the kind of behavior which damages and destroys relationships). Yet in spite of their treatment of

Him, God is not mean-spirited toward His foes. But neither does He forgive them so as to grant them salvation from the penalty of their sins. Purely and simply, He loves them, and in all ways seeks their good. But He will not forgive them until they repent and show themselves sincerely desirous of being reconciled to

Him. This is an example of love which harbors no ill-will toward an enemy, yet does not forgive the enemy until he genuinely seeks forgiveness.

In

2 Corinthians

5:19, the apostle Paul says that God worked, and is working through

Jesus Christ to reconcile His enemies to Himself. The word reconcile comes from the word conciliate. To conciliate is to restore a relationship through the restoration of good will, harmony, and compatibility. This kind of restoration requires dealing with the differences which caused the breakdown of the relationship. Of course, the differences must be dealt with in a manner which removes them and creates an atmosphere for mutual love and trust to be rebuilt. This requires the involvement of both parties. The wrong-doer must repent of his wrong-doing, change his ways, and in so doing, seek to repair the damage done. The one wronged must lay to rest the memories of the wrong done and invite the wrong-doer to join him in rebuilding and restoring their relationship.

Truly, without mutual love and trust, a relationship is at best superficial and at worst unbearable.

Since mutual love and trust require two people committed to seeking each other’s good, forgiveness must include reconciliation when a relationship has been damaged and people have been estranged.

Therefore,

God’s plan to save sinners from the power, practice, and penalty of sin includes forgiveness – true forgiveness, which is relationship-restoring forgiveness. If we look for God’s forgiveness from the penalty of sin without taking the necessary steps to reconcile with Him so as to re-establish meaningful relationship with Him, we are looking for a salvation which does not exist. We may think we are saved because we have prayed a certain prayer or know certain information about God’s saving work on our behalf. But, forgiveness is only given to those who repent and do what is necessary to restore and rebuild a shared relationship of love and trust with God, himself.

Once Upon a Time

A successful business man built a lavish home on the side of a mountain. The side of his home which overlooked the beautiful valley below was mostly glass. The cost of insuring the glass against breakage was so great, he decided not to insure it. A few years later, a high school senior – on a dare from several of his friends – took a slingshot and broke five panes of glass. Through good investigative work, the county sheriff was able to arrest the young man who did this destructive deed.

When the case came to court it was revealed that this was not the first time this young man had destroyed other people’s property. The townspeople wanted him put in jail to teach the young man a lesson, and to protect their property from further damage. The homeowner wanted the young man to pay for the damage since he had no insurance to cover the cost of replacing it.

The judge knew he had to protect the townspeople from further acts of destruction and he had to get the broken windows replaced. Any judgment which did less would be unfair. Yet he felt compassion for the young man because he knew his decision would affect the young man for years to come. If he jailed the young man, he would not only have a prison record, he would be placed amongst older criminals who might influence this young man to do worse things. If he made him pay for the damage, the necessity of immediate employment might mean the hope of college and a better future would be gone forever.

Feeling the same love for this young man that he had for his own children, the judge wanted to forgive him, and through some form of training, and accountability, set him on the path to maturity and responsibility. Yet forgiving the young man would not guarantee future protection for the townspeople nor pay for the broken windows.

He could not expect the townspeople to suffer more damage to their property just to give the young man another chance to straighten out. Nor could he expect the homeowner to pay for the broken windows just so the young man could get on with college and a better future.

So the judge did some investigating between the end of the trial and the date of sentencing.

He discovered the arrest and possible jail time had shaken the young man into seeing the foolishness of his ways. Before the case came to trial the young man had begun to make serious and personally costly changes. He changed his friendships so that he was spending time with young people who were encouraging him to do good things. He found a job and was already saving money to pay for the damage he caused.

The judge checked with the young man’s teachers, his parents, the parents of his friends, and any other sensible adult who had observed the young man’s attitude and behavior since his arrest. All pointed to a significant and sustained change of mind and behavior. This gave the judge the confidence he needed to act with justice, and with mercy – which meant no jail time for the young offender.

However, there was still the matter of the broken windows. In order to be just, the judge not only had to protect the townspeople, he had to make sure the windows were paid for.

Only partial justice would be served by the young man changing his ways. Full justice required changed behavior plus paying the debt for damage done.

To completely forgive the young man so that he would have no jail time and no expense that would deter his college education, the judge, himself, paid the cost of replacing the broken windows.

Therefore, the judge was not only just, but the justifier of the one who did wrong and owed a great debt because of his wrongdoing.

The love and sacrificial generosity of the judge, coupled with the repentance of the young man, made forgiveness reasonable, rational, and sensible. We see the truth of this in the fact that forgiveness accomplished its purpose.

For example, forgiveness opened the way for reconciliation between the young man and everyone else involved. Reconciliation made it possible for the restoration of relationships to levels of love and trust. Restored relationships resulted in lasting friendships between the young man and many others in the community. And the lasting friendships became the best protection from further destructive behavior by the young man. Thus justice was served, a guilty sinner was forgiven, and the good of all promoted and protected.

In Summary

Because sin is so heinous, so damaging to the well-being of everyone it affects, God decreed that the penalty for sin is eternal damnation, and therefore every sin must be paid for. The motive behind sin is so evil that every sinner deserves eternal banishment to a place where he will experience the full impact of his selfish choices and sinful behavior.

In spite of our sin and the fact we are sinners, God loves us and desires to have a mutually-loving, mutually-satisfying, and mutually-faithful relationship with us.

Therefore, God has acted on our behalf to free us from the consequence of our own foolishness.

He paid the penalty for our sin so we can be forgiven and live with Him forever.

God’s mercy is available to all because He seeks the good of all. He wants everyone to come to repentance and be reconciled to Him. Yet God’s mercy is only extended to and experienced by those who voluntarily repent of their sin and pursue a life of love – love which makes God their supreme focus, and the good of others equal to their own good.

We may never be perfect in this life. Yet when we have repented of sin and trusted in

God, we will persistently seek a fuller understanding of spiritual things and a maturing participation in the practice of godliness, which is most readily seen in the ways we love God and those around us. We will hunger for the qualities of character and behavior which God wants to build into our life. We will not concentrate on our failures, nor make any excuses for our sins.

Instead, we will pour our energies and time into heading straight for the goal

– to be dead to sin and self, to love God supremely, to serve Him fully, and to love others as we love ourselves.

Do you agree with God that all sin is heinous and must be punished? Have you repented of sin, or have you only agreed to give up certain sins? Are you doing your part in forgiveness, or do you want God to overlook your sin without a whole-hearted commitment on your part to put an end to your sinful ways? In other words, do you want salvation from the penalty of sin so you can go to heaven when you die, yet still be free to enjoy the pleasures of sin and the ways of the world in this life? Or do you want a salvation that frees you from the penalty of sin, the enslaving power of sin, and the practice of sin so you can love God as you ought and those around you as yourself? This is God’s salvation – a salvation that includes the forgiveness of sins and the reconciling of your relationship with God.

God is just, and because of your sin, justice demands your banishment. God is love, but because you have damaged and broken your relationship with God, you need to be forgiven and reconciled to Him. Amazingly, He wants a two-way love relationship with you in spite of your sin. Graciously, He has done His part. What will you do?

No

Other Foundation
Book 1
Toward Repentance of

Sin and Faith in God

Chapter Eight
Understanding

The hidden things of God are only known by God. They are not for us. But that which God makes known is ours that we may share in His life and live in the warmth of His love forever. I implore you, hunger and thirst for what He has made known.

It has been said the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. To fear the Lord is not to be afraid of Him or terrified of Him so as to avoid Him or appease Him. To fear the Lord is to reverence Him, to be in awe of Him, to respect Him, to adore Him, coupled with a healthy dread of

Him.

Therefore, proper fear of the Lord is deep love mingled with reverential dread.

It is knowing He loves perfectly so as to be drawn in by His love in order to know His love intimately. It is knowing He punishes thoroughly so as to fearfully and carefully live up to what He says in order to return love to the

One with whom we share love.

From this perspective, adoration for God coupled with dread of God is the beginning of wisdom. However, we will not adore Him if we do not know him personally, and intimately. And, we cannot get to know

Him personally and intimately from a distance. To adore God, to love Him deeply and tenderly, to love Him to the point of devotion, to hold Him in highest esteem, to love Him to the point of unwavering loyalty takes an intimate, shared relationship of communion and companionship with Him.

In like manner, we will not live up to what He says if we do not know Him personally and intimately. As the scriptures say,

“He who loves not, knows not God, for God is love.” In other words, we may live up to some of what He says but we will not live up to what we know about what He says if we do not know Him personally and intimately. And, we will not want to know Him this deeply unless we repent, which means changing our mind about Him, about sin, and about ourselves. To obey God, to live up to what we know, to do the right we know is right, takes a changed mind leading to a changed life which hungers and thirsts for intimacy with God.

Therefore, intimate communion and companionship with God coupled with living up to what we know God says is the pathway to wisdom. Skip either side of the equation and we might become smarter, but we will not grow wiser.

Wisdom is understanding, clear thinking, and sound judgment used in the most sensible manner possible by mere mortals to live in such a manner as to love God supremely and everyone else as much as they love themselves.

Now, the purpose of what has been written in this book is to increase understanding. It is hoped the increase in understanding will promote clear thinking and sound judgment (wisdom)

which in turn will encourage choices and behavior that seek the good of everyone affected by your choices and behavior, including God.

Those who are wise value the love of the Lord and live according to the ways of the Lord. Those who hunger for the knowledge of God grow stronger and stronger in the ways of God. So be prudent. Make it your goal to know God personally and intimately, living up to what you know He says about how to live. In this way your relationship with Him will affect your whole life, life-long.

“Not everyone who says to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord,’

shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My

Father who is in heaven.”

No

Other Foundation
Book 2
Needful Truths for

Children of Light

Chapter One
A Place to Begin

Not so long ago there lived a young man who loved the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his mind, and with all his strength. Early every morning he searched the scriptures so that he might better know and understand this One whom he loved so dearly.

One day, while reading the 14th chapter of the gospel of Luke, he came upon verse twenty-six. Here is what he read:

“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”

He stopped and read no further. “Why would a God of love require me to hate my own family?” he wondered. “I should think He would want me to love the most those who are dearest and nearest to my heart.”

Remembering reading a similar statement a few days earlier, he began turning the pages of his Bible looking for the verse. He found the words he was looking for in the book of Matthew. There he read:

“He that loves father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loves son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me.”

Thoroughly confused, the young man asked his father the meaning of this saying.

“Why would

God ask me to hate those who are so dear to me?” And his father, to whom God had given wisdom and understanding, explained these things to him in a parable.

And this is the parable which his father told:

Once there was a land, wide from east to west, though narrow from north to south.

Along the northern border of this land there ran a mighty river. Visible from the southern border was the edge of a vast desert. The country itself was called

Voel, and it was filled with many towns and villages.

In the center of Voel was the City of the King. Now this city was very large

– many times larger than the biggest town. Surrounding the city was a great wall

– a wall so great that all in the city were safe from any danger outside the walls.

And as you already may have guessed, the King lived in this great walled city.

He was a strong, valiant man - able to defeat his best soldier in combat. He was also a compassionate, loving man - caring deeply for even the least of his subjects.

Bitter enemies of Voel lived at both ends of the kingdom, and they had large, well-trained armies. Both the king to the east and the king to the west were impatiently waiting for his own army to grow large enough in numbers so he could destroy the land of Voel.

Determined to protect his kingdom from a surprise attack, the King of Voel kept spies in each of his enemies’ armies. The spies did their work, for one day a spy returned to the palace of the King with important news. The two bitter enemies of

Voel had formed an alliance and planned a two-pronged surprise attack in 10 days.

The

King knew the only hope for the survival of all his subjects was to bring them within the walls of his city. So the King called two of his servants who ran faster than any other servants he had. He commissioned them with the task of warning every village and town of the imminent danger, telling the citizens of Voel to come to the City of the King where they would be safe. The two servants were to start at the extreme borders, one servant at the western border, the other at the eastern, and work their way back to the City of the King.

“When you stop at a village or town, remain only long enough to warn them of the impending danger.

Then rush on to the next town, for all must hear. It is my will that none should perish.” These are the words the King said to his two servants.

The first servant did exactly as the king said. He quickly went to the outermost village near the western border of the kingdom. There he cried out to the people of the village, “I am sent by the King. You are in great danger.

Unless you flee to the City of the King you will surely die.” The people of this village did as the servant said, quickly fleeing to the safety of the King's city. The people of the next village also responded immediately, and the next as well.

In the fourth village the people would not believe what the servant said. He pleaded with them for a short time, but then, remembering the King's admonition that all must hear, he moved on to the next village. And thus did this servant until he reached the City of the King. Although some did not believe his warning, most believed and sought safety from the enemy's armies in the City of the

King.

The second servant went quickly to the outermost village near the eastern border of the kingdom. To the people of this village he cried out, “I am sent by the King.

You are in great danger. Unless you flee to the City of the King you will surely die.” The people of this village immediately fled to the City of the

King. The people of the next village also responded immediately and were saved.

Then the servant came to the third village. It was in this village that he had been born and raised. Many of his friends and family, whom he dearly loved, lived in this village. When the servant cried out to the people of this village, they did not believe him. In fact, they laughed at him and told him he must be playing some kind of joke on them. This grieved the servant, for he did not want his family and friends to die. The servant began arguing with the people, offering every bit of evidence he could think of to convince them of the danger they were in. At last, the people of this village believed.

But now it was the ninth day, and on the tenth the foreign army would attack.

The servant ran with the people of his home village as they fled to the

City of the

King. As he ran, the servant passed four villages and six towns.  He only stopped at three, for the soldiers of the enemy’s army were now within eyesight. So he ran until he reached the safety of the King’s city.

When both servants had returned to the City of the King, the King called for them. The two servants went before the King to give a report of their service.

When the

King bade him speak, the first servant fell down at the feet of the

King and began to weep. “My Lord, I have failed you, not all were saved. Some would not believe my warning. If I had perhaps remained in those villages and tried to convince them they might have been saved.” But the King stood up and took the servants hands. “Rise up and rejoice,” said the

King. “For many people are with me this day in my city because you obeyed me. Rise up and rejoice. I will honor you for what you have done, for you have loved all my subjects just as

I love them.”

Then the King turned to the second servant. “My Lord, thank you for entrusting such an important task to me. Indeed, this day I rejoice in that all my dearest friends and family are safe. It took time to convince them, but they finally believed and came to your city.”

“You wicked, selfish servant.” said the King. “You disobeyed me because you love your family and friends more than you love the other subjects in my kingdom. You placed their well-being above the well-being of those you could not warn for lack of time. To save the lives of those you held so dear you unjustly sacrificed the lives of others who deserved to live just as much as your family and friends.

Because you did not go to all to whom you were sent, seven villages were drowned in the innocent blood of the people you did not warn. You evil and worthless servant.”

That same day the evil, worthless servant was put to death. Then the King publicly honored the servant who loved him and all his subjects as he, the King himself, loved them.

“Now listen to the meaning of the parable, my son.” “The Servant who was put to death loved his family and friends more than he loved the King and all the

King’s subjects.

His love for his family and friends was not true love, but selfish love

– if there is such a love. But don't go to extremes and in so doing miss the truth of the story.”

“Indeed, the servant should have loved his family and friends. But he acted on his love in a way that caused others to suffer unnecessarily. He wanted what was best for his friends and family. That is good. But when we seek the good of some to the harm of others, that is not love. If the servant had loved the King and all his subjects, he would have left his family and friends in their unbelief so he could warn everyone. He would have held the well-being of all the people he was commissioned to warn to be equal in value to the well-being of his family and friends. True, leaving his family and friends knowing they would die, would have hurt him deeply. It might even appear to an outsider that continuing on so he could warn everyone meant he hated his friends and family. And once they were under attack, it’s probable they would curse him for not staying long enough to convince them. But such is the nature of man and the nature of love.”

“You see, love seeks the good of all. It does no harm to anyone. Love cannot seek the good of one or some at the expense of others. Our Father in Heaven loves this way.  He loves everyone and wants what is best for everyone. So, although He is a God of love, one type of love which He tells us is not acceptable is a love for one person to the harm of another. He asks you to love as He does, even if your love for the good of all makes it appear as if you hate those nearest and dearest to you.”

“Well, my child, do you now understand why we are not worthy of God if we love even our family and closest friends in a manner that seeks their good at the expense of others? And do you now understand why Jesus tells us that following Him requires a love for everyone that may at times make it seem as if we hate our own family and friends?”

“Yes, father. Thank you.”[1]

What is written in this book has nothing to do with being super- spiritual. The things written here relate to the basics, the foundational building blocks, the first steps of Christianity. These truths are not for a select few, but for any who will forsake their selfish ways and take on God’s holy ways. From here, we grow to understand and put into practice the deep, rich truths of God.

It seems, however, that many do not want to be Christ-like. They just want the benefits of Christianity. They do not want to die to self, but they want what

God promises to give to those who do. They want grace without repentance, happiness without holiness, power without purity, God’s promised abundant life without quality Christian character, and eternal life without death to sin.

They want to simultaneously satisfy their yearning for spiritual things and selfish things. They want a self-satisfying sense of spirituality without the reality of death to self. They are self-deceived, and in their self-delusion they perpetuate a useless, empty, shallow form of Christianity – if such a thing exists.

What about you? What is it you really want? What do you value the most? What is your primary goal in life? Who, or what, has captured your heart? Do you see love primarily as something you need from others, or as something you direct toward

God and others? Do you share God’s concern for relationships built on mutual love and trust? Do you see that holiness is the only way for love to be effective in building meaningful relationships and protecting the good of all?

Does love compel you to be concerned about how your choices and behavior affect others? What is the abundant life to you? Is it the good life, or

God’s way of love?

As a mirror reflects the image of your face, so your choices and behavior reflect the image of your heart. They reveal what you believe, who you love, and what you want.

To learn the truth about yourself, examine your repetitive, day-to-day, choices and behavior. If it is difficult for you to examine yourself honestly, ask someone who doesn’t think very highly of you to examine you and tell you what he or she sees. Then weigh what they say against what Jesus says are the identifying traits of a godly life.

“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it.” (Note: Matthew

16:24-25)

Do not be deceived. No one can have the best of both worlds. God does not pay sin’s penalty for anyone He cannot purify from the contamination of sin. He does not justify anyone He cannot sanctify.

The purpose of this book is to point the way to purification and sanctification for those who have trusted in God for salvation from the penalty, the power, and the practice of sin. Read it with that in mind.

There is no reason to accept blindly what is written here. If you are wise, you will search the Scriptures to see if what is said is true. For this reason, I have included many passages of Scripture to help in your research. Hold everything written on these pages up to the light of God’s Word before accepting it as God’s truth.

If you lack understanding of what is being said, ask God for discernment and wisdom. Ask God to enlighten you through the work of His Holy Spirit.

Think carefully and thoroughly. Be careful not to reject what is different just because it is different. Go back to God, again and again, and ask His help in discerning the truth.

May the Lord be your life, and His Word your joy. May you love God above all others and above all else. May you trust God completely. May God’s love make you secure, especially as you die to self and live unto Him. May relationships of love and trust be more precious than anything else on this earth. May you love as God loves you, giving that love to others as you have received it from Him.

[1]This story was written by Marc

Bayne and edited by David Bayne.

No

Other Foundation
Book 2
Needful Truths for

Children of Light

Chapter Two
Repentance

The

Contents Of This Chapter

- Repentance

- Three Means for

Understanding Sin

- Toward Repentance

- Repentance —

A Whole-life Change

- Thinking We Have

When We Haven't
- The Bible Speaks
- In Summary

Repentance

Sin is so heinous and spreads so quickly that not even its slightest occurrence can be allowed, tolerated, overlooked, or excused without opening the floodgate of human destruction – a destruction so ferocious it annihilates everything in its path. And though this destruction may seem distant or insignificant at the moment of sin, it will, inevitably, overwhelm both sinner and their victims like a gigantic wall of rushing water.

This is not new news, however. God, using different words, said the same thing to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He used a flood to convey this message to the people of Noah’s day.

Fire and brimstone were His means of confirming this message when He destroyed Sodom and

Gomorrah.

In giving the Law to Israel, He clearly communicated this same message through

His commandments, His promises of blessing for obedience, and His threats of punishment for disobedience. And, He brought this message home to the

New

Testament church when He struck down Ananias and Sapphira for lying.

Indeed, there isn’t a culture, nation, people group, community, or family who doesn’t know something about the destructive power of evil on both the practitioners and victims of evil.

Yet foolishly, each one of us has taken part in opening the floodgate of this inescapable and overpowering destruction. Each one of us has selfishly and deliberately done what we know is wrong. We have shamelessly and intentionally chosen the way of sin over the way of virtue. Like spoiled children, we have self-centeredly sought to please ourselves and go our own way without regard for the pain, suffering, damage, and destruction such behavior brings upon God, our family, community, nation, and world.

But who among us wants to admit he is an intentional sinner deliberately doing what he knows is wrong? Who is humble enough to openly admit he has intentionally, and often repeatedly, sought his own good at the expense of others? Who is contrite enough to confess to those he has wronged exactly how he has wronged them and that he is without excuse for the wrong he has done? Who conscientiously strives to identify and then take appropriate action to correct his own specific acts of sin (single occurrences) and long-standing practices of sin (repeated occurrences)?

And who has enough personal integrity to acknowledge specific ways and instances where his self-centeredness has contributed to the practice of sin in others and the ultimate destruction of this world?

We prefer to see ourselves as good people with good intentions. So we claim to be good, and even godly, in spite of the fact that we are not as zealous about living up to what we know as we are about expecting others (spouse, children, extended family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, public officials) to live up to what they know.

We judge ourselves by what we wish to be instead of what our daily choices and repetitive behaviors irrefutably proclaim we are.

And of course, we are not inclined to ask a family member or friend, and especially not an enemy, to tell us what self-centered, inconsiderate, inconsistent, unkind, and otherwise sinful behavior they see in us. Why? Because we don’t really believe we are that evil, and if we are, we don’t want to know.

Wanting to be seen by others as good people with good intentions, we blame people and circumstances – anything but ourselves – when caught or criticized for doing something wrong. When the criticism stings or cuts too deep, we attack back with equal or greater force – endeavoring to end the confrontation without honestly evaluating the criticism or resolving the difference between ourselves and the confronter. And should our critics continue to tell us what they see, we push them out of our life – protecting ourselves from their words by avoiding them as much as possible.

It isn’t that we are afraid to admit we are sinners. Most of us will admit to that in a general, vague kind of way any and every day of the week. But we do not want to admit we are deliberate sinners intentionally committing specific sins or willfully and repeatedly doing what we know is wrong at the expense of others. We do not want to admit we selfishly seek our own good, and in so doing, unnecessarily harm others. We do not want to admit we employ a double standard whereby we justify doing to others what we do not want done to us. We do not want to admit we distrust God in certain areas and are therefore unwilling to live according to

His Word in those areas. And for sure we don’t want to admit we have chosen to go our own way in open disobedience to God’s way, so that we can do for ourselves what we think He can’t or won’t do for us.

Yet not only do we resist admitting to a specific and deliberate involvement in sin, we resist admitting that the sins we commit are vile. According to our own estimation, the sins we commit may be bad, but they are not vile, abominable, detestable, repugnant, or as evil as the sins of some sinners we know. And here again, it isn’t that we are unwilling to admit sin is evil. We zealously affirm that sin is so heinous not even its slightest occurrence can be allowed, tolerated, overlooked, or excused. But what we are really affirming is that other people’s sin is heinous - sins like murder, rape, homosexuality, abortion, adultery, sexual and physical abuse of children, alcoholism, drug addiction, breaking and entering, car theft, job discrimination, oppressive injustice, extreme bigotry, and other people’s actions which make our lives needlessly unpleasant. And of course, we’ve never done, nor would we ever do, such heinous things.

Yet we are just as self-centered, just as committed to doing what we know is wrong, just as willing to treat others as we do not want to be treated, just as openly rebellious against God, and just as disobedient to God’s Word as the murderer, rapist, homosexual, abortionist, adulterer, abuser, alcoholic, drug addict, thief, oppressor, bigot, and the person whose selfishness makes our life more difficult. We may not be guilty of committing the atrocities of the aforementioned sinners, but we are just as guilty of voluntarily and deliberately doing what we know is wrong.

Though we do not commit the supposed big sins, we deliberately and cheerfully commit sin – sins like discreet greed (the selfish use of money and possessions at a level approved by most

American

Christians), shrewd business practices (the unloving things a business person believes he must do to stay in business), lustful thoughts (hidden adultery, silent immorality), over-eating, workaholism, financial hoarding

(making money the god we depend on to give us immediate happiness and a secure future), self-esteem-building pride, self-indulging consumerism, spousal disrespect, denial (refusal to admit or deal with relationship-destructive behavior and/or conflicts), double-standard parenting (making our children do what we do not do), control over others (forcing others to do what pleases us), impatience, unkind words (to control, manipulate, hurt, or joke at another’s expense), gossip (passing information which needlessly damages someone’s reputation), unforgiveness, and revenge (getting even, returning evil for evil).

Like the murderer, we cut people out of our life after judging them worthless, or at least of less value than those in our little clique. Like the abuser and oppressor, we try to control others in an effort to make life better for ourselves. Like the abortionist, we terminate relationships that make our lives more difficult, or get in the way of what we want. Like the homosexual and adulterer, we use people for our own gratification, and we hurt those closest to us in our selfish pursuit of happiness. Like the drug addict and alcoholic, we numb ourselves against stress, discouragement, depression, the pain of hurtful relationships, and fear of failure with television, sports, over-eating, shopping, and other such things that numb our mind and dull our senses. Like the thief, we take what doesn’t belong to us (copying computer software, illegally copying and downloacing music, photo-copying choir music, taking work supplies for home use, cheating on our taxes, etc.). Like the bigot, we are thoughtlessly prejudiced against those who do not agree with us on issues we deem important. And like all of them, we excuse our own sinfulness by putting the blame elsewhere, or by claiming we are less sinful than most people.

Though we know these things are wrong, we avoid calling them sin through re-labelling. We label them as necessary, practical, harmless, or circumstantially justifiable. We take comfort in our re-labelling because, deep inside, we think God is wrong for calling many of the aforementioned sins, sin. We are not convinced that things so useful and necessary to our well-being, our personal happiness, and our future security could be sinful. We are not convinced these things really hurt others. And if they do, we are convinced the harm done when we do them is negligible compared to the irreversible hurt of murder or rape or adultery. Thus, we conclude that if they are wrong, it’s not because they are evil, but only because

God says they are wrong.

How is it that people who clearly know what is wrong when being mistreated, find it so hard to discern right from wrong in regards to their own behavior? Could it be because they look in the wrong place for the answer to the following three questions?

1.

How do we determine what sin is?

2.

How do we decide when we are sinning?

3.

How do we ascertain when we have sinned?

Too many of us rely on the accepted practices of society to provide the basis for answering these questions. This means we make the prevailing attitude of society toward a particular behavior, or category of behaviors, the basis of deciding the what and when of sin. In other words, what they accept as wise or necessary, even though the Bible condemns it as sin, we accept as wise or necessary. What they condemn, we condemn.

Now for Christians, this method of deciding the what and when of sin is heretical. Yet it has been, and continues to be, a popular method in our society, even among the churched. We only need to examine issues like slavery, homosexuality, prejudice and white-flight, consumerism, popular yet dishonest business practices, taking cash for work rendered so we don’t have to pay taxes on it, fashion, bitterness, anger, derogatory words, unresolved conflict within supposedly committed relationships, divorce, and getting even, to see how often this method is employed. And it does not require extensive research to know that many of those who attend church, claim to believe in God, and read the Bible behave much like unbelievers as regards this list of sins.

Truly, deciding the what and when of sin according to the popular, society-based view of right and wrong turns moral issues into best option issues. It unleashes untold suffering and destruction by perverting reason as regards good and evil. It is at best an unreliable method of defining sin. And, it confirms its unreliability through its failure to protect the good of each individual and the greater good of all.

Well then, how do we decide what sin is, when we are sinning, or when we have sinned? Many decide these matters on the basis of benefits received from a specific action or behavior pattern.

However, one problem with this method is that we tend to magnify the benefits and trivialize the harm done to those affected by our favorite, most trusted, regularly relied-on sins. In fact, we often ignore the destructive effects of sin on ourselves and others. The drug abuser, alcoholic, spouse abuser, adulterer, domineering spouse, absurdly strict parent, aggressive controller, and passive appeaser, are a few examples of this.

Another problem with this method is that we want the sole right to decide if the benefits of certain behaviors outweigh the harm done. In other words, we don’t want those hurt by our sinful deeds to be part of deciding how bad we’ve hurt them. We don’t want anyone’s opinions but our own to tip the scales of justice. Therefore, deciding right and wrong on the basis of benefits received is not a reliable method. It too easily turns wrong into right by obscuring the destructive consequences and highlighting the benefits - especially to self.

So how do we come to a definition of sin which puts and keeps sin’s “what and when” in its proper perspective? The only rational, reasonable, protect-the-good-of-everyone way to come to such a definition is to go to the source of wisdom, righteousness, and love itself. We must go to

God.

God, speaking to us through His Word, says sin is lawlessness. This lawlessness is the result of our choice to be lawless in response to His rightful position of authority over us. (Note: I John

3:4,

5:17)

As the Creator and Sovereign Lord of the universe, God has made laws by which we are to live. As God’s created beings, as ones under

His authority, as children in the home of their Father, we are under obligation to obey His commands. Therefore, sin is willful, conscious rebellion against

God and His laws. It is the refusal to come under God’s authority and live according to His commandments and principles. It is believing that we know more about what is best for us than God so as to feel justified in doing what God says is wrong.

To further clarify this point, put it in the context of the family. Good parents create rules for the family which promote and protect the good of everyone. Such rules are based on love – love which seeks the good of the child by protecting him from his own foolish, self-centered, and self-destructive predilections. These same rules are intended to set boundaries for the child which protect the good of those who are in any way affected by the choices and behavior of the child. And finally, these rules are intended to create an environment which nurtures caring, meaningful, satisfying relationships within the family, and when possible, between the child and anyone outside the home who abides by these rules.

To the child, these rules may seem unreasonable or restrictive at times. To the parent, these rules provide hope for a loving home, an emotionally and mentally healthy process of child development, and a stable future for the family. Whatever restrictions are placed on the child, they are placed there for the purpose of promoting and protecting the good of the child and those affected by the child’s words and deeds.

Therefore, sin is when a child willfully refuses to obey one or more of his parent’s rules, and in so doing, self-centeredly goes his own way, deliberately does what he has been taught is wrong, and willfully hurts others in the process.

Like a good parent, God created rules, based on love, by which all humanity is to live. His rules protect us from ourselves

– from the self-destructive consequences of our own foolish and selfish inclinations.

His rules protect the good of everyone who in any way are affected by our choices and behavior. Finally, His rules create an environment where mutually caring and deeply satisfying relationships are the natural reward of love – a reward which infallibly and unfailingly promotes and protects the good of all.

Therefore, when we disobey God, we are challenging God’s authority by behaving as if we are the rightful and final authority over ourselves. We are showing contempt for God’s wisdom by intentionally rejecting what He says is right so we can do what we think is right for ourselves. We are abandoning love for selfishness and forsaking community-centeredness for self-centeredness. And not only do we neglect the good of others in our pursuit of self-interest, we willfully inflict unnecessary suffering on others in the fulfillment of our self-interest. In fact, we carelessly and uncaringly make life more difficult and painful for everyone affected in any way by our disobedience to God. Truly, sin is lawlessness.

Now when law and love are united, as God has united them, lawlessness is always linked to selfishness. Therefore, sin is selfishness. It is voluntarily and deliberately breaking God’s laws in order to place our own interests, happiness, gratification, protection, and future security before the good of God and the well-being of our fellowman. In other words, sin is law-breaking for the purpose of doing to God and others what we do not want them to do to us. It is refusing to submit to the authority of God so we can look out for our interests and our good without equal regard for the interests of God and the good of others. It is willfully doing what God says is wrong for the sole purpose of pleasing ourselves (or some special interest group of which we are a part). And, we are guilty of committing sin when we carelessly neglect to do, or willfully choose not to do, what we know is the right thing to do.

Therefore, the only just and fitting penalty for sin (for deliberately doing what we know is wrong, and willingly doing it at the expense of others), is banishment. The Bible speaks of this banishment as death – not physical death, but removal forever from God's presence and kingdom and all who love as God loves. The place of banishment is hell. This removal from God,

His kingdom, and all who love as He loves, to hell, is a just and fitting penalty because it perfectly fulfills two requirements. First, it satisfies the requirement of punishment for those who willingly and deliberately inflict unnecessary suffering on others through acts of sin. Second, it protects those who live according to God’s rules – loving as God loves – from any further unnecessary suffering at the hands of sinners. (Note: I John 3:4-10;

James

4:17)

However, though sinners deserve such a harsh penalty for sinning, the penalty presents God with an unwanted problem. Every man and woman who has ever lived or will live (with one exception - Jesus)

has sinned. We have all voluntarily and deliberately done what we know is wrong, and we’ve done it at the unjust expense of others.

Therefore, all humanity, past, present, and future, stands condemned to eternal banishment in hell. And just as no amount of prior or future goodness on the part of the murderer can restore the murder victim’s life, so no amount of personal goodness can make it as if we never sinned. No amount of personal goodness can remove the fact we did to another what we would not want done to ourselves. So the only way we can satisfy the penalty for sins we’ve committed is to pay it.

And the only way to pay it is to be banished to hell for eternity. For this reason, God, the one who judges sinners worthy of eternal damnation, has made a way for us to be freed from the penalty of our sin so that we can live with Him forever.

God’s solution to our sin problem cost Him dearly. It cost Him the torturous death and hell-bound soul of His irreproachable and only son, Jesus. And though we cannot purchase, earn, or trade anything for

God’s solution to our sin problem, we can only receive it at great cost to our self-life (our selfish, self-centered, self-interested, self-focused life).

Now

God makes His great salvation (His solution to our sin problem) available to everyone. Yet we will not be of the right mind to receive this great gift for the purpose it is given without seeing ourselves as willful sinners whose sinful behavior has alienated us from God and needs putting away (at least all known sinful behavior) if the broken relationship is to be restored. To see ourselves aright, that is, as willful sinners in need of repentance, we need to come to a rational and accurate understanding of sin. But how can we, who are selfishly-minded from birth, come to a rational and accurate understanding of sin? Consider the following three means by which the truth about sin can be understood. The first two means are available to everyone, everywhere. The third has been, and continues to be available to most, but not all.

Three Means for Understanding Sin

As one of his premier tasks, the Spirit of God relentlessly works to convince sinners to think sensibly about sin, righteousness, and God’s unavoidable judgment of sinners. The

Spirit of God performs this task with unrelenting persistence – fighting to bring the light of

God’s truth into sin-blinded eyes and minds darkened by self-centeredness. He tirelessly works to bring each one of us to a rational and accurate understanding of sin’s universality, insidiousness, foolishness, and destructiveness. He tenaciously toils to convince us of the wisdom of righteousness (that which is right and just) and the intelligence of doing what we know is right. He relentlessly works in and with our conscience to produce an appropriate and keen sensitivity to sin so that we can know when we are doing something we know is wrong. And, he unswervingly calls our attention to the final judgment when God will banish all unrepentant sinners to hell.

This work by God’s Spirit is universal.

He works with everyone, regardless of location, nationality, gender, cultural influences, religious background, social status, and economic position. No one, absolutely no one, goes through life without experiencing the illuminating and convicting work of the

Holy

Spirit regarding sin, righteousness, and the final judgment.

Therefore, this is the first and foremost means of coming to a rational and accurate understanding of sin. (Note: John 16:8-11)

The second means by which the truth about sin can be rationally and accurately understood is as universal as the first.  This means is our intellect. It leads us to the truth through our dealings with two common sources of information

– creation and criticism.  The understanding gained through this means may be elementary or unrefined, but it is rational and accurate enough to convince us of what we need to know.

God, as the creator, set us apart from all other living species by creating us with an intellect. Our intellect provides us with the ability to think, reason, conceptualize, and remember. This ability makes it possible for us to come to an understanding of sin from two directions

– creation and criticism.  (Note:

Romans

2:5-16)

All creation reveals inspiring, life-affecting truths about God, His personality, His limitless power, and His divine nature.

Through the right use of our intellect, we are able to examine the stars, planets, sun and moon, the earth, plants, animals, and mankind. In so doing, we can discern many things about God’s character and His intentions for humanity. As we use our intellect to further contemplate what we have discovered about God in creation, we gain insight into His supremacy, His worthiness of adoration and praise, His reason for creating our world, His reason for creating humanity in

His own image, His primary character traits, and His intentions for mankind.  This knowledge, when applied to the issues of life, enables us to form an accurate understanding about right and wrong, and our responsibility in choosing right over wrong. (Note:

Romans

1:18-20)

Besides creation, we all have the intellectual ability to criticize others - especially in relation to their treatment of us.

Our criticism reveals our expectations of others - as to how we want them to treat us. In other words, we know how we want to be treated, and it is on that basis that we criticize others for not living up to our expectations.

When we unite our knowledge of how we want to be treated with the right use of our intellect (ability to think, reason, conceptualize, remember) we are able to figure out how we ought to treat others. Of course, being able to critique the behavior of others means we can critique our own behavior.

So, we are equipped with the ability to know when we are acting out of love or self-centeredness; when we are doing what we know is right or what we know is wrong; and if we are treating others as we want to be treated.

Therefore, failure to know right from wrong (simply treating others as we want to be treated) is not due to some disability or malfunction of our intellect. It is due to the misuse of our intellect.

It has been said that when someone else does something wrong, we most often see it as the result of a moral weakness or defect in that person's character.  Yet when we do something wrong, we most often see it as the result of an uncontrollable weakness in ourselves, or a defect in our circumstances, or good intentions gone awry. This is the misuse of intellect perverting criticism for selfish purposes. When others mistreat us, we condemn them and expect them to take full responsibility for their behavior. Yet when we mistreat others, we blame them and/or the circumstances, and expect them to understand why we are only partially responsible, if at all. This is the misuse of intellect re-interpreting reality for selfish purposes.

God’s

Word tells us we will be judged according to the severity with which we judge others. The reason for this is, the level of intelligence used to discern right and wrong in others is the level of intelligence available for discerning right and wrong in ourselves. To use our intellect to critique the behavior of others and not our own behavior, leaves us without excuse for choosing to do what we know is wrong. Criticism of others'

treatment of us shows we know what is right, and how to identify wrong behavior. Therefore, it is reasonable for God to hold us accountable to the same degree we hold others accountable.

(Note: Romans 2:1-4; Matthew 7:1-5; Jeremiah 17:9-10;

Ezekiel 18:30-32;

Matthew 7:21-23, 13:40-43; II Corinthians 5:10; Galatians 6:7-8;

Revelation

20:12-15)

Every adult who lives on this earth is capable of having a rational and accurate understanding of sin so that they know the difference between right and wrong. God ensures this through the activity of His

Spirit and the intellectual ability He’s given us for discovering truth from creation and criticism. To continue in sin when we can know the difference between right and wrong leaves each and every one of us without a justifiable excuse for doing what we know, or could know, is wrong.

The third means of coming to a rational and accurate understanding of sin is just as much God’s doing as the first two. This means brings us into direct contact with explicit truth. Yet it relies heavily on the work of the Spirit of God and the right use of our intellect.

This third means, contact with explicit truth, has three forms. First, we have the Word of God – the Bible. This is not available to everyone. But for those to whom it is available, it provides a precise definition of sin, a clear presentation of love, examples of right and wrong taken from people’s lives, an in-depth disclosure of what God is like, an indisputable exposure of our sinful nature, an easily understood explanation of what God has done to solve the sin problem, and explicit statements about what we are to do in response to what God has done. Second, God continually sends messengers to proclaim His truth so that all who listen can come to a rational and accurate understanding of sin, righteousness, the coming judgment, the cross, faith, grace, forgiveness, reconciliation to God, holy living, and eternal life. These messengers have been called prophets, apostles, preachers, evangelists, teachers, and missionaries. Third, God expected Israel, and now expects the Church, to live in such a way that the world can clearly see the difference between right and wrong, love and selfishness, righteousness and sin, godliness and ungodliness, morality and immorality, and justice and injustice. One of the best teachers is example, and the Church (Christians everywhere) is to teach the world, by example, the indisputable difference between right and wrong.

God has intentionally and graciously provided these three means of making it possible for everyone to come to a rational and accurate understanding of sin through: [1] the Holy Spirit, [2] right use of intellect as regards creation and criticism, [3] direct contact with the truth through the Bible, God’s messengers, and Christians everywhere.

Now the question is, what should we do? Or maybe the better question is, what must we do? How should we respond to the truth we know? How does God expect us to respond to the truth we know?

The only reasonable, appropriate, sensible, acceptable, worthy response to truth is to turn from our self-centeredness (the way of sin) and live according to the truth we know (the way of love). This turning and living begins with repentance and conversion.

Toward Repentance

Every one of us is born into a community of communities.

Our first, most obvious community, is the family. It can be two parents with one or more children, or a single-parent with one or more children. The second community is the extended family, made up of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Then, we are part of the neighborhood community, the state we live in, the country our state is in, the continent our country is part of, and the world community. By the time we are six years old we have become part of the school community and the special-friends community. As we grow into adulthood, many of us join the workplace community, and most of us start another family community through marriage. Finally, there is God’s community which, from the human perspective, began with Adam and Eve and will last throughout eternity.

In any community, the emotional, physical, mental, spiritual, and relational well-being, present safety, and future security of everyone depends on each individual doing what he knows is right.

Therefore, the amount of knowledge an individual has of right and wrong is the degree to which the rest of the community can rightly hold him accountable to promote and protect the good of all by living according to what he knows.

When an individual within a community deliberately does something which he knows is wrong, he demonstrates that, in at least that situation, he values his own happiness more than the well-being of the community at large and any individual directly harmed by his selfish behavior.

Such an individual has elevated self-centeredness above community-centeredness, and he has done it at the expense of others.

When an individual repetitively does what he knows is wrong, he demonstrates a commitment to the belief that a self-centered approach to life is better than a community-centered approach. In essence, he believes promoting and protecting his own interests, first and foremost, is more important than ensuring the good of everyone. In fact, he believes his own happiness is so important that, in his mind, it becomes rationally defensible to harm others in the process of looking out for himself. Such an individual is a danger to the well-being, safety, and security of every other member in the community.

Therefore, when an individual deliberately and repeatedly does what he knows is wrong, he makes himself an enemy of the community. This may seem like an overstatement, but consider this: who would deliberately and repeatedly say or do things which cause one or more members of the community to unnecessarily suffer heart-break, despair, rejection, injury, or loss?

Would a friend do this? Would someone who loves others as he wants to be loved, do this? No, this is the behavior of an enemy.

The leadership within a community has the responsibility to promote and protect the well-being, safety, and security of each individual in a manner which promotes and protects the good of the entire community. The first step in this process is to create laws, regulations, and restrictions which, when obeyed, promote and protect the public good to the highest degree possible. The second step is to ensure that all are made aware of the rules with the expectation that each one does what he knows is right. The third step is to enforce the rules, when necessary.

There are only two reliable ways to enforce the rules when a community member repeatedly does what he knows is wrong. The first way is to ask the self-centered individual to change his mind (choose to be community-minded), so that he changes his behavior (lives in a way which makes the good of every other member of equal or greater importance than the good of self). This change of mind, accompanied by a behavior change in keeping with the change of mind, is called repentance. If the behavior does not change enough to make a difference, it is because the disobedient individual has not genuinely repented (changed his mind from self-centeredness to community-centeredness).

When a disobedient community member resists repentance, the second method of enforcing the rules must be used. The second way to protect the community is to remove the unrepentant individual from the community. Removal is a form of banishment. Its intent is primarily the same as asking a wrong-doer to repent – to protect the good of everyone in the community. But when a repetitively disobedient member refuses to repent, the only choice left by those in authority is to remove the unrepentant member. On the human level, banishment can last until the individual dies (we see this in our judicial system with murderers, drug lords, serial rapists).

On an eternal level, that is, in God’s community, banishment always lasts forever.

Sadly, every one of us has chosen to exalt the good of self above the good of others. We are, by nature and by choice, repetitively disobedient community members. We have willfully set aside the community good for our own good. Though we’ve known what is right, we have deliberately done what is wrong – at the expense of others. And we have not sinned just once (done what we’ve known to be wrong), but over and over again. And we’ve not unnecessarily hurt just one person, but many people numerous times. In fact, our assault on other community members is so grievous, we justifiably deserve eternal banishment from God and all who love as God loves.

Fortunately,

God does not deal with us, sinners all, according to raw justice. If He did, we would receive what we deserve

– banishment forever. No, God sprinkles justice with mercy. Though we deserve banishment, He has done everything necessary, and continues to do everything possible, to bring us to repentance. Why? God wants each of us to repent so we can be reinstated in His community as good members, for eternity.

So to summarize, God’s laws promote and protect the public good to the highest possible degree. Yet without breaking His own laws,

God shows us mercy. He is driven to such kindness by His heart-felt longing that we be loving members of His loving community forever. His gift of an intellect, a conscience, messengers (i.e., apostles, prophets, evangelists, preachers), and the Bible not only leads us to a clear understanding of what is right, they lead us to an understanding of His deep, enduring love for each and every one of us. His enforcement of the rules not only reveals absolute justice determined to protect the community good, it reveals absolute justice permeated with a mercy that is doing everything possible to bring us to repentance.

For

God, banishment may be necessary for the community good, but it is not an experience He looks forward to, or something He takes pleasure in. His joy, that which He looks forward to and takes pleasure in, is loving relationships among loving individuals within a loving community.

Therefore, God has made a way for us guilty sinners to become part of His community – a community where everyone is always community minded. But to get in, to receive God’s mercy and become a member in God’s community, we must repent. We must change our mind from self-centeredness to community-centeredness. Then we must proceed to live accordingly by replacing self-centeredness with community-minded behavior. Without this kind of repentance, a repentance which produces a changed life, we cannot receive God’s mercy. And, without God’s mercy, we remain outside

God’s community.

At this point, some will surely say that we are saved by faith alone – that repentance is not a needful part. Yet this is not the teaching of the Bible. From the Law, to the Prophets, to John the

Baptist, to

Jesus Christ, to the disciples, and on into the Church age, repentance has always been a condition, a requirement, a vital first step on the path of salvation, reconciliation to God, and becoming a member of

God’s eternal community. Consider the following scriptures and see how consistent they are in stating that repentance is to be our first response to the saving work of God.

2 Chronicles

7:14 (NASB)

If

My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Proverbs

28:13 (NASB)

He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.

Isaiah

55:6-7 (NASB)

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while

He is near. (7) Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and

He will have compassion on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.

Ezekiel

33:11 (NASB)

“Say to them, ‘'As I live!’ declares the Lord God,

‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’”

Matthew

3:1-12 (NASB)

Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, (2) “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (3) For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet, saying,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord,

Make His paths straight!’” (4) Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair, and a leather belt about his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

(5) Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea, and all the district around the Jordan; (6) and they were being baptized by him in the

Jordan River, as they confessed their sins. (7) But when he saw many of the Pharisees and

Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (8) Therefore bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance; (9) and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you, that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. (10) And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (11) As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the

Holy Spirit and fire. (12) And His winnowing fork is in His hand, and

He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Matthew

4:17 (NASB)

From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Luke

5:31-32 (NASB)

And

Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. (32) I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Luke

13:1-5 (NASB)

Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. (2) And He answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these

Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered this fate? (3) I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. (4) Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in

Siloam fell and killed them, were worse culprits than all the men who live in

Jerusalem? (5) I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Luke

15:7 (NASB)

“I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

Luke

24:45-47 (NASB)

Then

He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,

(46) and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the

Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; (47) and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

Acts

2:38 (NASB)

And

Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Acts

3:19 (NASB)

“Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. . .”

Acts

5:29-32 (NASB)

But

Peter and the apostles answered and said, “We must obey God rather than men. (30) The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. (31) He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to

Israel, and forgiveness of sins. (32) And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey

Him.”

Acts

8:20-22 (NASB)

But

Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! (21)

You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before

God. (22)

Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.”

Acts

17:24-31 (NASB)

“The

God who made the world and all things in it, since

He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; (25)

neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He

Himself gives to all life and breath and all things; (26) and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation, (27)

that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; (28) for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His offspring.’ (29)

Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine

Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.

(30) Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, (31)

because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a

Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

Acts

20:18-21 (NASB)

And when they had come to him, he said to them, “You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, (19) serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; (20) how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, (21) solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord

Jesus Christ.”

Acts

26:16-20 (NASB)

“‘.

. . But arise, and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which

I will appear to you; (17) delivering you from the Jewish people and from the

Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, (18) to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’ (19) Consequently, King Agrippa,

I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, (20) but kept declaring both to those of

Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of

Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to

God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance.”

Romans

2:1-8 (NASB)

Therefore you are without excuse, every man of you who passes judgment, for in that you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. (2) And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. (3) And do you suppose this,

O man, when you pass judgment upon those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? (4) Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

(5) But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

(6) who will render to every man according to his deeds: (7) to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; (8) but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.

2 Timothy

2:24-26 (NASB)

And the Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, (25) with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, (26) and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

Hebrews

6:1-2 (NASB)

Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the

Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, (2) of instruction about washings, and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

This condition or requirement of repentance for admittance into the community of God does not negate or diminish the cross and grace of God. It is not able to save us from the penalty of sin. It cannot make up for sins committed. But without it, God has no rational, logical, sensible reason to wash our sins away in the blood of Jesus and bring us into His community of believers.

Repentance — A

Whole-life Change

In its most general sense, repentance is defined as a change of mind, a thinking again, or a turning of the mind from one direction to another. In relation to becoming a Christian, repentance is turning from rebellion against God and from doing as we please for our own pleasure and happiness.

And, it is turning to the pursuit of a relationship with God of loving communion and companionship (love God supremely) and doing that which promotes and protects the good of everyone affected in any way by our choices and behavior (love our neighbor as ourself).

Repentance begins in the mind, so it naturally affects the way we think. And because it affects the way we think, it profoundly affects the way we live.

Repentance begins when truth is brought to bear on one’s thinking in a manner which is so unsettling as to promote both disdain and regret over specific wrongs done or how one has generally lived as a sinner.

Thus, repentance includes the experience of genuine sorrow over wrongs done and sins deliberately committed. Upon asking God for forgiveness and trusting in

Christ for salvation from the power, practice, and penalty of sin, repentance fulfills its purpose by engaging the mind to the degree of directly influencing the new believer’s behavior. To this end, repentance produces planned, purposeful, progressive, measurable efforts to get rid of all known sin and replace the old sinful ways with godly ways. Therefore, repentance results in choices and behavior which, in being distinctly different from that from which we have repented, verify the sincerity of our repentance.

Repentance is not a sense of conviction over sin.

Conviction of sin may lead to repentance, but it should not be confused with repentance itself. Repentance is a voluntary choice to change our thinking because the truth has brought us to our senses, irrespective of how we feel.

Conviction is an involuntary state of mind based upon feelings of guilt over wrongs done. Many feel convicted over wrongs done without repenting of their interest in wrongdoing.

Again, repentance should not be confused with remorse or sorrow over sin. It is possible to be so emotionally stirred as to feel great sorrow over our sin. We may even condemn ourselves so severely as to feel deep remorse for what we have done. However, neither sorrow nor remorse automatically produces a changed mind so that we willfully take the necessary steps to put away our sinful ways and begin doing what we know is right. Only repentance produces this change of mind.

Repentance is not the same as faith in God, or trusting in Christ for salvation. But, repentance is the only rational response once we come to our senses – once we see that God is right and that we have been cheerfully going our own way in rebellion against Him. Repentance is the most reasonable first step in validating our decision to trust in Christ for salvation from sin. It is something we must do to convince God we want to be reconciled to Him. It is something we have to do to be forgiven by God.

Truly, without repentance we are telling God our primary interest is salvation from the penalty of sin, not a reconciled relationship of mutual communion and companionship with Him. Therefore, without repentance we are like an adulterous husband expecting his loving wife to take him back without him having to give up his adulterous relationship.

Before repentance, sin looks very exciting, pleasurable, profitable, self-protective, self-serving, and expedient. Sinners see sin, at least some of the time, as a good solution to some of their problems; as a dependable means of providing future security; and as an dauntless defender against present danger. Indeed, sin’s promise of quick, satisfying results makes it a very enticing choice. After repentance, sin looks repulsive because of the unnecessary and unjust harm it does to God and everyone affected by our sinful choices and behavior. The repentant person knows sin never works better than righteousness, and the rewards of sin are seen as a paltry pittance in comparison with the rewards of loving God supremely and others as oneself. In fact, the repentant person is convinced that sin is a cruel hoax whose promises stand exposed by its unavoidable, though often future, ruinous consequences.

Before repentance, we think of selfishness and the self-serving practices of the world as vital ways and means to make up for

God’s deficiencies. We see selfishness and the ways of the world as a means to a quality of life which is not as boring or puritanical as God would have us live. As willful sinners, we like sin’s methods and means for getting the most out of life. After repentance, we clearly see that whatever good there is to be experienced in this life comes from God, and is a result of living according to the Word of God. We are convinced that it is not God who has the deficiencies we must protect ourselves against, but rather our own selfishness and the ways of the world. In fact, we know that selfishness and the ways of the world bait us with immediate gratification only to bring us to ruin through our own stupidity.

Before repentance, God’s requirements seem excessive, His laws seem arbitrarily oppressive, and His punishment of sinners seems unnecessarily harsh. We often think of God as mean-spirited, uncaring, and untrustworthy for allowing and/or causing bad things to happen to us and other seemingly good people. After repentance, we heartily agree with

God’s intentions to promote and protect the well-being of everyone. We see that all of God’s commands are motivated by His love for us. We recognize that harsh punishment is necessary if sin is to be stopped and innocent victims protected from unnecessary suffering at the hands of willful sinners. And beyond that, we understand that sin and sinners (and that includes ourselves)

are the cause of all the suffering in the world – not God.

Before repentance, God’s Word seems unrealistic, unreasonable, impractical, improbable, and even fictional or mythological. To the sinner, God’s Word is not a reliable, trustworthy source of truth by which he wants to live. After repentance, we are convinced God’s

Word is unequivocally wise and necessary for life. We see that it is rational, reasonable, produces its promised results, and is worthy to be trusted as the ultimate authority on how we should live.

These thinking changes concerning sin, selfishness, the world, God, and God’s Word, are the direct result of repentance. When a sinner comes to his senses upon encountering the truth about himself, his sin, the ways of the world, God, and God’s Word, his only reasonable response is to repent. Any other response leaves him in his sin and estranged from

God. If he repents, it directly leads to a life which is wholly committed to forsaking all sin and selfishness; which embraces God as completely worthy of his love and trust; and which pursues those things which advance and protect the good of everyone affected by his choices and behavior.

For those who may misconstrue what has just been said by thinking repentance has been misrepresented as sanctification, such is not the case. Repentance is a change of mind. Sanctification is a progressive change of life. We need repentance, salvation from the power and practice of sin, and the indwelling empowerment and work of the Holy Spirit to realistically and effectively pursue sanctification. In other words, though repentance is not equal to sanctification, it is the first requisite step on the path to salvation and sanctification. This change of mind is the human basis on which we not only see, but come to heartily agree with, the need to leave our sinful ways behind and be conformed to the likeness of Christ.

Thinking We Have When We Haven't

We all know what it is to choose self-centeredness, the ways of the world, and sin to promote our own good and get our own way.

It is just as clear that for the same self-serving purpose, and from the same self-centered mindset, many join Christianity. For them, loving God supremely and their neighbor as themselves are of minor interest compared to gaining release from sin’s penalty – from eternal damnation in hell.

As members of the Christian religion, they claim to be born again believers who agree with the teachings of the Bible. No doubt, in theory, or in a general way, they do. In practice, however, they ignore those teachings which prevent them from practicing their favorite sins. What they want is a religious experience which gives them sufficient freedom to enjoy the best of this world (which means doing some things they know

God says are wrong), and sufficient grace to enjoy Heaven in the life hereafter.

As sincere as these religionists think they are, they have a problem. They have never repented. They genuinely want some of what God is offering. But they also want some of what the sinful world is offering. So, they devote themselves to trying to do the impossible – serve two masters (self and God, sin and righteousness, selfishness and love). In their quest to serve God, they change their minds about some sin, but not the principle of sin, the essence of sin, or sin itself. They are determined to trust in

God, but they are equally determined not to trust Him completely. They give serious attention to living according to God’s Word, but selectively so that they are free to live according to their own self-centered interests in some things.

Though they change some areas of known sin in their lives, they continue to justify or hide other known areas of sin. What they call being

‘born again’ or

‘trusting in Jesus for salvation’ has far more to do with looking out for their own interests than turning from their sin to serve the living God.

Tom and Alice had been married fifteen years when she found out about Tom’s unfaithfulness. He was seeing a secretary from work during times when he claimed to be working overtime. Alice was heart-broken, and angry. She married Tom with every intention of being married for life – which meant being faithful for life whether things between them were good or bad. She couldn’t understand what would make Tom do such a thing. She didn’t want a divorce, but she was not going to live with Tom under these conditions.

So, she called for help because she didn’t know what to do.

By the time I got involved, there was enough hurt and resentment on both sides to last three life-times. Trust, in the things that really mattered, was badly damaged and thought to be unrestorable.

However, in our first session it became clear neither wanted to lose the good they had built over the years. Both said they wanted to restore love and trust.

They each said they wanted to find happiness and fulfillment in the other.

By the end of the second session, we were ready to make an agreement that would put

Tom and Alice on the road to restoring their badly damaged relationship.

Alice spoke first. She said she would forgive and forget if Tom would end his relationship with the secretary and commit himself to a life of faithfulness to her. She said she would continue counseling to find the things in her life which were making Tom feel unloved – and work diligently at changing them. She said she would open the door for the rebuilding of trust if

Tom would come to counseling with her and work on the things in his life which made her feel unloved. And, she wanted him to know she felt hopeful they could rebuild and restore their marriage to a condition where both would be deeply satisfied.

Then

Tom spoke. He was sorry for all the grief and pain he had caused Alice. He asked for her forgiveness. He said he wanted the relationship to be satisfying to both of them. He was willing to continue the counseling sessions and work on those areas in his life which were hurtful to

Alice. Of course, he was excited about her wanting to change for him.

For his part, he wanted to regain her trust. He was more than willing to recommit himself to her, and to be faithful to her, with one small exception. He had grown to love the secretary and what she did for him, so much so that he didn’t see how he could totally forsake her. But he wanted Alice to know that his interest in the secretary did not change the fact that he loved Alice, and was committed to her. He believed he was proving his commitment to her by agreeing to all her terms, with just this one small exception. Of course, he was more than willing to compromise on his relationship with the secretary

– like only seeing her twice a month and for a maximum of two hours at a time. And naturally, he was certain his offer was fair, and that Alice couldn’t refuse.

He ended by assuring her that they could have a great marriage under these conditions, and he looked to me for support.

What could I say? Tom said he was sorry for hurting

Alice, and had asked her forgiveness. He was willing to fulfill all of

Alice’s requirements for a good marriage, with just one small exception. He was willing to compromise with Alice on the one small thing he was asking for himself.

Surely Alice could give a little after asking for so much. Looking at it from

Tom’s side it seemed reasonable that Alice should be content with a changed husband who would give almost total commitment, almost complete faithfulness, and almost pure love. After all, Tom was human. Only a fool would expect him to be perfect. And only an ungrateful wife would expect more than a good effort by an imperfect spouse. So I supported him. Wouldn't you?

Before shouting a resounding ‘NO!!!’, think about your relationship with God. Are you asking God to do what Tom asked

Alice to do? Are you expecting God to forgive you, take you back with open arms, treat you as if you had done nothing wrong, and be happy with your level of commitment to holiness while you are deliberately holding on to one or more sins that you know are wrong?

If you have, you are asking of God what Tom was asking of

Alice. And if you have, you are giving to God what Tom would give to

Alice if she accepted his offer – a perverted form of love that is devoted, affectionate, considerate, and ready to serve as long as you can hold on to just a few selfish practices which you deem too necessary to your own happiness, security, and fulfillment to give up.

Most of us know that if Tom is to reconcile with Alice, he must put an end to his relationship with the secretary. Most of us understand that if Tom is to remain faithful to Alice in the future, he must change his mind about infidelity. We know that if he is to love Alice as his wife, and as she is worthy to be loved, he must stop treasuring and in fact start hating everything that has anything to do with infidelity. We know that

Tom must choose to do what he knows is right, on a day-to-day basis, to build a mutually satisfying relationship with Alice where each loves and trusts the other. And we know that Alice would be a fool to forgive Tom and take him back if he does not make the aforementioned changes. In other words, we know

Tom must repent to turn his sinful life around, be forgiven, and have his marriage restored.

Now the simple truth is, if we know Tom must repent to be forgiven and to have his marriage restored, we know we must repent to be forgiven and to have our relationship with God restored. In the same way, if we know Alice would be a fool to take Tom back while he is unwilling to forsake his infidelity, we know God would be a fool to take us back while we remain unwilling to forsake all known sin.

A great servant of God, well known for his missionary and church planting work, wrote about this matter of repentance in a letter to a church where he had ministered. The following is a paraphrase of what he said.

Now

I am filled with joy and praise to God, not because you went through a time of sadness and deep sorrow over your conviction of sin, but because your sorrow led to repentance. You experienced the sorrow

God wants all deliberate sinners to experience, for He doesn’t want anyone to suffer the destructive consequences of sin. This means the truth upset you in the right way, and you came to your senses. You could have felt the sorrow of embarrassment or anger because I pointed out the wrong you were doing.

However, such sorrow would have further hardened your hearts against the truth, leading to more sin, and finally, eternal damnation. But you repented. You sorrowed over your rebellion against God, the evil of your ways, and the unjust harm you were doing to others because of your sin. You changed your thinking and your behavior, without any regrets over what you turned away from. This is the repentance that leads to salvation. And now I see the validation of your repentance in your behavior. What a change in your attitude, words, and deeds!

What hatred of sin – even the seemingly insignificant sins!

What fear of not becoming all that God saved you to be! What longing to please God in everything! What zeal for doing what you know is right – whatever the cost may be! What integrity, stopping at nothing to make right the wrong you’ve done! In everything you have shown yourselves to be genuinely repentant. (Note:

II Corinthians 7:9-11)

Have you repented? Repentance does not automatically produce a perfect life - one that is sinless in every way. However, you have not repented unless you have forsaken your old way of thinking and replaced the old way with a mindset that is determined to forsake all sin and make godly love your whole-life, life-long pursuit. Though the proof of repentance is not in being perfect, it is in your striving to do what you know is right in spite of the difficulties or set-backs encountered along the way.

It is proved by your persistent practice of love in all situations and with all people. It is proved by your humble admission of guilt when you do sin, and by your sincere efforts to make things right with everyone hurt by your sin. It is proved by your relentless, whole-life effort to become all that God saved you to be.  (Note: I

John 2:4-6, 9-11, 29;

3:6-10, 14, 23-24; 4:7-8, 15, 20-21; 5:1-3, 18)

The Bible Speaks

We all know sins we hate – sins which make our skin crawl just to think of someone committing them. These are the sins we would never commit. In fact, there is nothing about them that would tempt us in any way to commit them. On the other hand, we all have sins we treasure

– sins which hold the promise of good things otherwise unattainable. These are the sins we want to commit, and we hardly need to be tempted to commit them.

One clear indication we have sought to be born again, sought salvation from sin, and pursued the Christian religion without repenting, is a partial change of mind resulting in only a partial abandonment of our treasured sins. It isn’t that we won’t, or don’t, abandon known sin in our life. But we won’t, and don’t, abandon any more of our treasured sins than is absolutely necessary to maintain the image of being a born-again

Christian.

Those treasured sins we can hide, or practice openly without losing public approval, we do. This kind of partial change is a clear indication we are attempting to do what is right in living a Christian life without forsaking self-good as our primary interest and self-centeredness as our primary motive.

This is not uncommon. Churches today seem to be overflowing with self-centered, selfishly-motivated adherents. What does the Bible say about this?

You may be able to speak, as though anointed by the Holy

Spirit of God, in unknown earthly and heavenly languages. Yet if you do not love (committed to and working out loving God supremely and your neighbor as yourself), you are still self-centered. If you do not, on a day-to-day basis and in the little as well as big issues of life, make it your goal to seek the good of everyone who in any way is affected by your choices and behavior, you do not yet agree with God about the evil of sin and the way of love. Therefore, all your Spiritual sounding words are nothing more than offensive noise to those who see your hypocrisy.

(Note: 1 Corinthians 13:1)

You may be able to prophecy, or explain the obscure and hard to understand portions of Scripture. You may even have enough faith to work great miracles. Yet if you are holding out on God in some area that you know is sin (especially if you would identify it as wrong in someone else)

you love yourself more than God. And if you are willfully and repeatedly choosing self-interest over the good of those nearest and dearest, even in a minor way, you love yourself more than them. Therefore, you are no better than the sinner who wants nothing to do with God and the ways of godliness.  (Note: 1 Corinthians 13:2)

You may give everything you have to provide food, shelter, and clothing for the hungry, the homeless, and the ill-clothed. You may sacrifice your life for some noble cause. Yet if your primary motive is a gratifying sense of accomplishment, the assurance of self-worth, or the praise of others, you’ve done it out of self-love, not the good-of-everyone love.

Therefore, whatever benefits you gain from such sacrifice will be temporary – confined to this life. They will have no eternal benefit. God will not reward you in any way since your deeds of kindness are selfishly motivated.  (Note: 1 Corinthians 13:3)

There are many in the Christian religion who not only attend church, they serve the church, read their Bible, pray, give tithes and offerings of money, promote Christianity in their home, try to live a moral life, and invite unbelievers to attend church with them. On the surface these folks seem to take their faith in God seriously. Yet on closer examination, it becomes apparent they are willfully and repeatedly doing some things they know are wrong.

On the judgment day, these seemingly serious Christians will fully expect to be ushered into Heaven. When they discover they are to be banished from God’s presence and kingdom forever, they will be shocked.

Pleading with God for a reversal of His decision, they will point to their faith for the supernatural, their service in the Church, and their moral lifestyle. Yet the only response God can make is that He never knew them – there was no shared relationship of love and trust between them. Why?

Because they knowingly, willingly, and even deliberately continued in the practice of certain sins – verifying that they loved their own way too much to go God’s way. No doubt, they hated many sins, but they still loved lawlessness.

Therefore, to keep them from infecting Heaven with their lawlessness, and to give them what they deserve, they must be banished to hell. (Note:

Matthew

7:21-23)

In Summary

Do not be deceived. You can trust in

God for salvation from your sin and seek to live a Christian life for the same selfish reasons you sin. Truly, if you do not repent, you cannot be a

Christ-one (one who belongs to Christ).

If you do not change your mind about:

(1)  sin

(not just some sins, but the principle of sin, the essence of sin, all sin - whether known or yet unknown),

(2)  selfishness

(not just some selfish ways, but the principle of selfishness, and the hoped-for benefits of selfishness),

(3)  the ways of the world,

(4)  God,

(5)  God’s

Word,

then you will never change your primary motive from self-centeredness to love. The best you will do is add parts of Christianity to your well-managed, partially-hidden, self-centered, sinful life. The best you can be is a devoutly-religious self-ruled sinner.

True repentance deals a death blow to the practice of known sin by dealing a death blow to the mindset which treasures and/or justifies sin. It clears our minds so we can see sin’s true nature – how it ruins us, how it needlessly harms others by making them victims of our sinful choices and behavior, and how it is the root cause of suffering and destruction in our world. It motivates us to hate sin – all sin, other’s sin, heinous sin, socially acceptable sin, seemingly innocent sin, and our own sin. It sets us on the path of being uncompromisingly committed to removing all sin from our life.

And should we sin again, it drives us to take our failure so seriously that we do what is necessary to get back on the path of intending to sin no more.

True repentance gives birth to true love and cheerful, whole-hearted obedience to God. Seeking God’s kingdom and His righteousness seems natural when our mind is set on God and the things of

God.

When we cognitively know, rationally understand, and cheerfully agree with God and His

Word, doing right becomes the obvious, desired choice as we approach each day, deal with people, and work through the daily challenges of life.

Without question, repentance is a precious thing in the sight of God. He did not send Jesus to earth for the sake of the righteous, but to call sinners to repentance. There is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.  (Note: Luke

5:32; 15:7, 10)

Have you repented? Because repentance is a change of mind, you must voluntarily and intentionally decide to agree with the truth you know so as to think differently from those who choose lawlessness. This puts the responsibility for repentance and the decision to repent squarely on you.

Have you repented? Have you changed your mind concerning sin, selfishness, the ways of the world, God, and God’s Word? Does your behavior validate your repentance?

No

Other Foundation
Book 2
Needful Truths for

Children of Light

Chapter Three
Faith

The

Contents Of This Chapter

- Faith

- What Faith Is

1. Everyone Lives by Faith

2. Behavior

Mirrors Faith

3. Securing Good through Faith

- Essentials of

God-Focused Faith

1. Accurate

Knowledge

2. Historical

Knowledge
3. Bible Knowledge
4. Reasonableness and Reality

5. An Expanding

Circle of Application

- The Power of

God-Focused Faith to Save Us

- The Power of

God-Focused Faith to Change Us

- The Power of

God-Focused Faith to Sustain Us

- In Summary

Faith

Niagara

Falls is a well-known landmark on a great inland waterway known as the St. Lawrence Seaway. Millions have visited these magnificent waterfalls to see their beauty and grandeur. A few have gone there to defy the power of the water as it pours over the falls, creating turbulent whirlpools with mighty undertows in the river below. Most everyone who risks their life in these daring feats goes over the falls in some contraption. Too often, the water wins, and a life is lost.

One of the few who tempted the falls and won was Charles

Blondin, a famous French tightrope walker. Instead of going over the falls in some contraption, he walked across the falls on a tightrope. Actually, he walked across several times: once blindfolded, once on stilts, once carrying one of his helpers, and once pushing a wheelbarrow. It is said that before each crossing Blondin asked the crowd if they were confident he could make it. Each time, the crowd gave voice to their confidence with wild cheering. Upon returning from his first wheelbarrow crossing, Blondin again approached the crowd. This time he asked if they thought he could push one of them safely across the falls. The crowd cheered loudly, proclaiming their confidence that he could do it. After quieting them down, Blondin then asked which one of them would step forward and get into the wheelbarrow. No one moved.

It is one thing to profess faith in something or someone.

It is quite another to place faith in something or someone, and live accordingly.

At best, professed faith is intellectual agreement with what is obvious and the admission of possibility with what seems to be true.

Therefore, professed faith is not faith, for it requires no personal trust or dependence on the object of faith. It involves no personal risk. It demands no commitment. It produces no behavior in agreement with what is claimed to be believed.

The onlookers at Niagara Falls publicly and enthusiastically professed faith in Blondin. Yet when he asked them to live according to their faith, it became obvious they trusted in something other than Blondin and his wheelbarrow. Though they professed faith in his ability to take someone across the Falls, no one trusted him enough to put their own life in his hands. No one stepped forward, and in so doing, acted according to the faith they claimed. Indeed, they acted as those who have no faith at all. Why?

Because they didn’t have faith in Blondin. They were willing to intellectually agree with what was obvious and admit the possibility of what seemed to be true, but they were not willing to place their faith in him.

On that day at Niagara Falls, faith in Blondin would mean getting in the wheelbarrow and trusting him to safely transport you back and forth across the falls - in spite of all the potential risks to your well-being. It would require following every instruction and obeying every command, so as to do nothing other than exactly what Blondin said to do. And of course, during the trip’s most perilous moments you would cling all the more to his every word and be all the more diligent to do exactly as he said.

Any deliberate movement contrary to his will, even if you deemed it necessary to protect your own well-being, would be an act of unbelief in Blondin. In other words, you would only have faith in Blondin if you willingly placed your life in his hands by getting in the wheelbarrow and following all his instructions as he took you back and forth across the Falls. Anything less would be professed faith, which is not faith at all but unbelief giving intellectual agreement to what is possible.

Therefore, to present as clear a picture as possible of faith, we will add the adjective complete

(i.e., total, thorough, explicit, all-out, unconditional, unequivocal, undivided)

to the word faith. Thus, faith will stand apart from professed faith, or partial faith, or unbelief.

However, any effort to clarify faith in a manner which asks us to live up to its definition is likely to be met with well-argued resistance – especially as faith relates to God and the

Christian life. By nature, we are far more interested in our own well-being than the good of God and everyone else affected by our choices and behavior. Where faith in

God seems to serve our interests, we are happy to trust. But let that faith require behavior which appears to promote the good of others at the risk of our own well-being and we are not so eager to get in that wheelbarrow. We may profess faith at this point, but we will not place faith in God and His ways.

Because of our self-interest, we are prone to claim that complete faith in God is impossible. And should someone hold up such a target for us to aim at, we argue that it is not only absurd, but unchristian to make such a demand. Yet we exercise complete faith in things and people every day.

An example of complete faith is the faith we place in our favorite chair around the house. We plop down in our favorite chair without even the slightest hesitation at wondering if it will hold us up. And why the

“no hesitation”? We have complete faith in our chair. True, this is a minor expression of faith compared to the life-affecting and even life-threatening situations we face when living for God and according to His ways. But it is, nevertheless, an exercise of complete faith, which means we are capable of such faith. With this in mind, let us move on.

What Faith Is

To understand what faith is, we must first understand what it isn’t. Faith is not a magical power. Faith is not mystically received or mysteriously activated. It is not a concept of what can be, nor an unattainable ideal of what ought to be. Faith is neither knowledge of certain facts nor an understanding of real or assumed truths. It is not a public acknowledgment that a certain fact or teaching is true. Faith is not a strong feeling, or a charged state of emotions, or an overpowering impulse. It is not a psychological ploy intended to trick the mind into producing some desired result. Faith is not a tool designed to work on God until He does what we want.

It has no power to make us act contrary to our will, nor can it make

God act contrary to His will. And finally, faith is not unique to Christianity.

The word faith primarily speaks of what we believe in. To believe in something or someone is to trust in, to rely on, to stake your life on a specific someone or something so as to live according to the object of your faith. This means all our repetitive or habitual thoughts, attitudes, choices, words, and deeds are the direct result of what we believe. In the same way, most of our reckless and rare thoughts, attitudes, choices, words, and deeds are the direct result of what we believe. Finally, this means that though we can be forced to act contrary to what we believe, we cannot be forced to believe in people or things we do not trust. Therefore, faith is a voluntary, deliberate choice to place trust in certain things and people with the result being that we live according to the object(s) of our faith.

With this understanding of faith, it is easy to see that faith is the connecting link between how we live and why we live that way. And because everyone, everywhere, everyday lives according to what they believe, we can tell what a person believes by observing how he lives. Indeed, our recurring thoughts, attitudes, choices, words, and deeds become a mirror image of the who and what we trust in.

This principle is not unique to faith in God, nor is it unique to the Christian way of life. It is a universal truth. If a husband says he trusts his wife with the family finances yet maintains tight control over her spending, he contradicts his professed faith by his behavior. In fact, his wife and anyone else who knows their situation will come to the conclusion he doesn’t trust her. And in spite of his denials to the contrary, observers will reach this conclusion by observing his repetitive behaviors related to his wife and the family finances. In other words, those who know him well know the truth, because behavior is the most accurate and compelling statement about what and in whom we put our faith.

Finally, we generally place faith in those things which we think will do the most to promote our interests and protect our well-being.

This does not mean faith is an inherently selfish act. What it means is, faith is a principle of life intended to be used for our good. Just as faith in the right things and people is exceedingly wise, so distrust of certain things and people is equally wise. The right use of faith leads us to the right objects of faith so that we live the right kind of life. For this reason, faith in

God and

His ways is the right use of faith. And though it leads to a life of self-denial and service to others, the rewards for such faith are both bountiful and eternal. Therefore, faith is willful trust in someone or something to the extent that we live according to our faith while relying on the object of our faith to do for us according to our faith.

In summary, everyone lives by faith. Behavior mirrors faith. And we trust in people and things we think will promote and protect our interests. To this end, we need to be wise in the exercise of our faith.

Therefore, the following is a fuller explanation of these truths about faith.

No. 1: Everyone Lives by Faith

Faith is not unique to Christianity. Everyone places faith in many people and things throughout their lives. Most often, we trust in more than one object and/or person at a time. Race, gender, age, family history, nationality, religious convictions, social and economic status, level of education, are all things that affect the objects of our faith. But such things never affect the fact that we live by faith.

To fly in an airplane, we must trust in the airplane itself, the pilots, the mechanics who service the plane, the radar system, and the tower crews who make it safe for the plane to take-off, follow a flight path, and land at its destination. If we are Christians, we add one more all-encompassing object of faith to the aforementioned array of objects – we add God. We trust in God, our supreme provider and protector, to bring us safely home. The point is this: whether

Christian or non-Christian, we place faith in many objects, and often, more than one object at a time.

The objects of faith include God, God’s Word, our parents, a friend, a school teacher, a church minister or priest, our spouse, a co-worker, the company we work for, our job seniority, our savings and investments, the wisdom of those more experienced, the methods of those more successful, our own opinion of what is right or best for us, an insurance policy, our physical looks or strength, our intellect, a guarantee or warranty of some kind, a brand name, money, government, an idea, a philosophical view, science, medicine, technology, a doctor, a repair person, a self-help book, a light switch, a chair, a dead-bolt on the door – and this list can go on and on.

The strategic difference between Christians and non-Christians is not how many people and things each puts their faith in. The crucial difference is who and what they trust in, and the priority given to a specific object of faith or group of related objects.

For the Christian, God and the Scriptures are the dominant objects of faith. To this end, the Christian’s behavior reflects the transcendency of these objects of faith above all others.

For the non-Christians, self-rule (relying on one’s own judgment of what is best for self) and self-achievement (relying on one’s own ability to do or get done what needs doing to promote and protect one’s self-interest) are the primary objects of faith. And like the

Christian, the non-Christian’s behavior exposes what he trusts in.

However, to trust God in the Christian way – to voluntarily and intentionally make God the foremost object of faith

– we must be convinced that God exists, and that He rewards all who seek Him. On a practical level, this means being so convinced of God’s goodness and the reliability of God’s ways that we deliberately place our well-being in His hands and live according to His Word. The natural, the logical, and the only possible outcome of such faith is a supreme devotion to God and a life devoted to doing the will of God. (Note: Hebrews 11:6; Mark 12:29-31; Matthew

6:33; II

Corinthians 5:14-15)

The non-Christian chooses self-rule and self-achievement as his foremost objects of faith because he is convinced no other thing or person, including God, is dependable enough to promote and protect his interests in a manner he deems necessary. This does not mean he completely distrusts all other objects of faith. Quite the contrary. He parcels out trust as freely as his supreme trust in self allows. However, the natural outcome of parceling trust according to the dictates of self-rule is a life dominated by self-centeredness. And though self-trust takes on various forms, even quasi-Christian forms, it can never take the form of godliness,

Christian love, or a whole-life, life-long devotion to God and His will.

To summarize, we all live by faith. Christian faith is God-centered, and it produces

Christ-like behavior. Non-Christian, worldly-wise faith is self-centered, and it produces selfish behavior. Christian faith may seem foolish for the moment, but those who live by it are wise forever. Non-Christian, worldly-wise faith may seem wise for the moment, but those who live by it are fools forever.

No. 2: Behavior Reveals Faith

Just as the crowds loudly proclaimed their faith in

Blondin before each of his trips across the Falls, so we profess faith in many things and numerous people, including God. Just as the crowds exposed the insincerity of their profession by refusing to get in the wheelbarrow, so we expose the true nature of our professions of faith by how we live day-to-day.

And just as not getting in the wheelbarrow revealed who and what the crowds actually trusted in, so our behavior mirrors our faith.

In relation to faith, behavior tells all – especially repetitive, habitual, day-to-day behavior. It accurately reveals what we believe. It exposes in whom and in what we place our trust. It takes our professions of faith and either validates or refutes them. We can claim to believe in, to trust in, or to rely on whatever we wish. But of this we can be sure – our choices and behavior provide an accurate, detailed image of what we place our faith in. This truth ought not to surprise us.

The word hypocrisy is defined as: pretending to be what one is not, or pretending to believe what one does not believe. On what basis, then, do we decide that someone is a hypocrite? We observe his behavior, and then compare what we have observed with what he claims to be and professes to believe. Do we take all his behavior into account? We should, but the significant, tell-all behaviors are those things he knowingly and deliberately does in direct contradiction to what he claims to be and professes to believe.

But why do we choose to give more credibility to his behavior than to his words? We know that his behavior, whether day-to-day or in some major circumstance, naturally reveals his true character. It is for this reason that the word hypocrite is most often used to label religious folk who claim to be Christians but do not live accordingly.

This relationship between faith and behavior ought to raise an important question. If our behavior accurately reveals what we believe, how is it that we are so easily seduced and deceived by our empty professions of faith? Why don’t we see our own hypocrisy?

Though the answer to this question can get complex, in its simplest form it is: we want to think better of ourselves, and we want others to think better of us than we are. So we profess to believe in, trust in, put faith in good and noble things, including God. Then, to maintain our inner sense of goodness and positive self-image, we treat our professions as proof of our goodness. And for the sake of our public image, we hope others will treat our professions as proof of our goodness, too.

Of course, if we’re the only one doing this, the truth-sayers around us will expose our charade. They will call us to personal integrity – to be honest with ourselves about ourselves. They will ask us to live up to the truth we know – to bring our behavior into conformity with our words.

This possibility poses such a horrifying prospect that we avoid truth-sayers as if they are the pariahs of life. Instead, we gravitate toward people and groups who are non-confrontive, affirming, and graciously tolerant so as to accept us as we are. We surround ourselves with people who are generally committed to bolstering our self-esteem rather than telling us the truth. In other words, we surround ourselves with people like ourselves so we can go on in our charade of thinking better of ourselves than we are.

But what happens when we can’t get away from a truth-sayer? We may try fighting back in hopes of forcing him to back off and let us go on in our charade. Or we may grow distant in hopes of making it easier to avoid what he says. Or we may block out the message of truth as if it and our sinful behavior were non-existent. Or we may listen for others as if the message doesn’t apply to us yet is urgently needed by someone we know. Or we may find faults in the truth-sayer and use them as justifications for not listening to the truth conveyed to us about ourselves. Or we may show interest while hardening our heart against the truth he tells us.

Sadly, most of us, by choice, are self-deceived. We deliberately avoid facing the truth about ourselves. We work hard at thinking better of ourselves than we ought. And, we tend to build our strongest relationships with self-deceived deceivers who, in condoning our self-deceit, make it safe for us to go on in our hypocrisy.

Therefore, very few take seriously this awesome truth about the connection between faith and behavior. And fewer still, it seems, carefully examine their behavior to discern what they believe (in whom and in what they whole-heartedly place their trust).  Nevertheless, it is not what we claim to be or profess to believe, but how we act which accurately reveals in whom and in what we have placed our faith.

No. 3: Securing Good through Faith

Almost without exception, we put our faith in people and things which we think will provide what we need, protect us from harm, improve our future, promote our happiness, satisfy our desires, and give us security against the unwanted. Only a fool puts faith in things or people he knows are going to be detrimental to his well-being or the well-being of those dear to him. Therefore, it is natural to trust in someone or something we believe will make life better, for ourselves and those we hold dear.

The problem with this fact about faith is not the fact itself, it is us. Being prone to self-centeredness, we too often use faith to seek our own good without adequate consideration for how our self-seeking affects the good of others. It isn’t that self-interest is naturally or inherently bad. When exercised within the boundaries of a supreme love for God and a love for others equal to our love of self, self-interest takes on a rational, conscientious, and even virtuous nature. However, when exercised within the boundaries of self-centeredness, self-interest takes on an unethical, unjust, victimizing, sinful nature. Yet whether we use faith selfishly or selflessly, we are using it in the hopes of securing our good and the good of those we care about.

For the sake of developing this point, let us label the two differing focuses of faith. Faith directed toward seeking the good of all, including self, will be labeled: God-focused faith.

Faith directed toward seeking the good of self, without adequate, loving regard for the good of others, will be labeled: self-focused faith.

Self-focused faith is driven by a commitment to self-good which supersedes all other commitments. God says we are born sinners. Even if one disputes this, it seems obvious that we are born self-centered. Good observation also makes it clear that we spend our early childhood fine-tuning self-centeredness. Beyond the fact that we are born sinners, children lack the ability to reason and conceptualize. They are not mentally equipped to think and reason so as to understand the principles used to determine right from wrong. Children know what is right and wrong because their parents tell them. They do what is right because of the threat of punishment or hope of reward – especially the reward of parental approval. But children do not understand why right is right and wrong is wrong so as to apply that reasoning to all situations. As children then, the focus of our thinking is self-good, self-need, and self-want. Because of this, we spend our early years developing self-centeredness.

But why, after acquiring the ability to reason and conceptualize, do so many of us remain committed to self-centeredness as our primary approach to life? Why is our primary exercise of faith, even as adults, self-focused faith? Why, even though we profess to trust in God, believe in His

Word, and trust in Christ for salvation from hell, do we repeatedly and willfully do things which we know are contrary to the will and Word of

God?

There are two primary reasons why, as adults, we choose self-focused faith over God-focused faith. First, experience forcefully convinces us that there aren’t many people who can be trusted to faithfully love us, care about us, respect us, protect us, and seek our good in everything they do which affects us. Too often, we have been hurt or let down by the important people in our life. Important people include parents, siblings, best friends, extended family members, respected teachers, a spouse, a cherished social group, an employer or supervisor, a highly regarded minister, and government officials. These are people who, by the very nature of their position in our life, are expected to faithfully seek our good. When these people hurt us or fail us in some traumatic or minor though repetitive way, we lose trust in them. Indeed, the more often or the more traumatically we have been hurt by them, the greater our distrust of them and anyone else who holds a similar position of importance in our life.

Then, the greater our distrust, the more convinced we are of the need to look out for our own good our own way, including admittedly selfish ways when necessary. It isn’t that we don’t want to live according to the principle of love or obey God’s Word. It’s that we’ve tried this noble approach and we’ve been taken advantage of, ripped off, treated as a doormat, abused, misused, neglected, and rejected. So, self-focused faith becomes our preferred means of looking out for self when those around us are uncaring, inconsiderate, irresponsible, and self-centered.

Second, based on our disappointing experiences with frail human beings, we tend to develop an underlying sense that God (that all-powerful being who could have protected us from being hurt)

has failed us in some way. Add to this our frequent disappointments with life in general and our observations of the difficult times others endure, and we conclude that

God is not completely, perfectly, or always trustworthy. So we decide it is not always in our best interest to unequivocally place our well-being in

His hands and do everything He says. What this means is that we do not believe

God can be depended on to guard or advance our good in every situation. Therefore, we do not trust God and His Word to always do what is best for us. Sometimes?

Yes. Often? Probably. But always? No!

Believing

God (the all-knowing, all-powerful supreme being) and His Word cannot be trusted to always do what is in our best interest, we place our trust in the only one left who we deem worthy of our complete trust. We place our trust in self. With self as our most trusted provider, protector, and authority on how to live, self-focused faith becomes our natural choice for fulfilling the awesome responsibility of self-care.

In this condition, we may place some of our trust in God, but we will not trust Him completely. In other words, we will not trust

God to the extent that we will live up to what we know is right. We will do some of what we know God says to do, but we will just as deliberately ignore some of what we know God says to do. Why? Because we are convinced that in these areas

God’s way will not give us the provision or protection we think we need. With self the only one we fully trust, our trust in God will always remain within the boundaries of our ability to insure our own well-being in any situation. In other words, self will be trusted, above all else, to carry out the responsibility of self-care. This is the ultimate in self-focused faith.

God-focused faith is driven by a commitment to the good of God and everyone else affected in any way by our choices and behavior. To even attempt such faith on a whole-life, life-long basis requires complete trust in the goodness of God and the reliability of

God’s Word. It requires confidence in God’s eagerness, faithfulness, and ability to provide for us and protect us as we devote ourselves to serving Him and caring for the needs of others. It requires reliance on

God’s wisdom to instruct us how to navigate the risky waters of Christian living. It requires confident expectation that what God commands us to do, He equips, empowers, and enables us to do. It requires thoughtfully and voluntarily placing our well-being in His hands and proceeding to live according to what we know He has said about how we should live. It results in making God the final authority on how we should live and the ultimate caretaker of our well-being.

God-focused faith often results in risking everything, even our life, for the sake of God and the good of others. This does not mean

Christians should categorically give everything away, as if having nothing means having greater faith. It does not mean Christians should carelessly put themselves and their families at risk, as if self-imposed suffering proves they have greater love. What it does mean is that we have chosen to depend on God for our provision and protection so that we willingly go wherever living for

God takes us. We willingly pay whatever loving others as ourselves costs us.

And, we willingly forsake or sacrifice whatever we must to advance

God’s influence and increase the number of His children. Such is the nature of

God-focused faith.

In summary, it is natural to trust in someone or something we believe will make life better for ourselves (and those we hold dear). The wise place their trust, as completely as they know how, in God and His Word. Then they use this God-focused faith to help them love

God supremely and live up to what they know is right in loving others as themselves. The foolish conclude that no one other than themselves is worthy of complete trust. They then use self-focused faith to promote and protect their interests in an effort to achieve a happy, satisfying, secure life.

Essentials of God-Focused Faith

For the Christian, faith is exercised according to Christian truth concerning God, right and wrong, and how to live as a child of God.

Those who exercise faith according to these truths are obvious — they bear a significant likeness to Jesus

Christ. The fact that God-focused faith produces such a radically different life from that of self-focused faith implies that what

God-focused faith can do, self-focused faith cannot do; and what self-focused faith will do, God-focused faith won’t do. To understand what this means, consider the following five essentials of

God-focused faith.

No. 1: Accurate Knowledge

All faith is built on knowledge, whether real or imagined, fact or fiction, true or false, provable or assumed, rational or irrational. Where we lack knowledge, we cannot exercise faith. What we do not know, or know about, we cannot trust in. To be activated, faith must have some knowledge of what it is trusting in. To be rational, and to produce its intended results, God-focused faith must be built on accurate knowledge, especially when it comes to God’s character and

His Word.

Accuracy is important. We cannot exercise a rational and practical faith where we hold an inaccurate understanding of the truth. Any amount of inaccuracy produces an equal amount of irrational thinking as to who and what we are trusting in. This, in turn, produces an equal amount of irrational and therefore impractical efforts at living the

Christian life. We do not have to look far to see that many have drawn back from serious efforts at living the Christian life because an inaccurate knowledge of God and His Word led them to trust in what wasn’t, resulting in futile and frustrating attempts to do what can’t be done. In other words, they tried to live a

Christianity that, in the end, made little to no sense.

An example of this is the common, though inaccurate teaching on forgiveness. (Forgiveness is too often taught as a fix for one’s own thinking rather than a vital step in the process of two parties restoring and healing their broken relationship.)

The Christian wife is asked by a well-meaning preacher to forgive her husband for verbally, and occasionally physically, abusing her and the children. So, the well-meaning wife tries to forgive her husband. In other words, she tries to think positively of him and treat him as if they share a relationship of mutual love and trust. However, her husband has neither asked for forgiveness, nor stopped abusing her and the children. Finding that forgiveness has done nothing but make it easier for her husband to act abusively, she feels God’s perfect way makes no sense (it doesn’t work).

To make the home situation safer for her and the children, she backs away from what she perceives is serious Christianity and settles for what she knows is a lesser, but more sensible level. And so, we see how her inaccurate understanding of forgiveness leads to an irrational faith in what isn’t; which leads to a futile attempt to do what cannot be done; which leads to intentionally choosing a lesser level of Christian living.

Not only does inaccurate knowledge of God and His Word lead to irrational and often impossible efforts at living the Christian life, it produces perverted or low views of God. Such views boomerang on us by eventually undermining and eroding our faith in God.

When

God does not live up to our expectations — expectations we think are reasonable — we will not want to trust Him completely. Yet when our expectations are based on inaccurate knowledge, our distrust is the result of accepting falsehood as truth. When we think God’s commands are too strict, oppressive, unrealistic, dictatorial, or egotistic, we will not want to obey Him. Yet when our view of His commands is based on inaccurate knowledge of His purposes or the difference between good and evil, our disobedience is the result of accepting fiction as fact. Truly, knowledge that is unworthy of God’s character and His Word generates a faith and subsequent life-style that is unworthy of a

Christian. Therefore, when we find ourselves suspicious of

God’s ability to bring about our good and His

Word’s reliability to tell us the best way to live, we are wise to look for the inaccurate knowledge which is promoting such irrational thinking.

Do not take lightly the importance of accurate knowledge concerning anything you intend to put your faith in. Inaccuracy does not run parallel to accuracy, it angles away. The longer you follow inaccuracy, the farther you get from the truth. The farther you get from the truth, the more irrational you become in your choices and behavior. For this reason, an accurate understanding of God and His Word is vital to

God-focused faith and its intended result —

Christ-like living.

One word of warning is needed here. It is important that we not confuse accuracy with amount. More knowledge is good, but the amount of knowledge is never proportional to accuracy. Accuracy stands alone, whether we have a lot of knowledge or a little. Therefore, an accurate knowledge of God’s character and an accurate understanding of

God’s Word — be they ever so small — is essential to a proper and worthy exercise of God-focused faith.

No. 2: Historical Knowledge

It is often said that Christian faith is blind faith. What is meant by this is that Christian faith requires trusting in what cannot be seen and believing in what cannot be measured or proven in and of itself. In other words, it means trusting beyond the mind’s capacity to find a rational reason to trust — resulting in behavior which, too often, has no rational explanation. However, nothing could be farther from the truth.

Yet in our sin-dominated, self-indulging, immediate-gratification, power- and possession-hungry world, God-focused faith sometimes seems like blind faith. And why is this? Because God-focused faith is largely a trust now-results later experience.

Think about this. Christians must frequently endure difficult situations while waiting as God works in the situation, or in spite of the situation, to bring about what is best or needful for all involved.

Sometimes the waiting includes exhaustion, frustration, disappointment, impoverishment, persecution, imprisonment, or loss of health. And sometimes, God’s provision and protection comes in the form of release from this life (physical death) rather than release from the difficult situation. Therefore, God-focused faith requires faithful dependence on God’s promises, even when we do not see their fulfillment within hours or days or months of when we ask for their fulfillment. God-focused faith requires faithful obedience to God’s commands, even though such obedience may leave us, for a time, susceptible to unjust harm at the hands of willful sinners. For these reasons, trustful waiting for God to finish what He’s doing, or for His Word to work as promised, seems like blind faith to those who want God to act immediately.

In addition, theologians and preachers seem to reinforce the idea of

Christian faith being blind faith. They do this by explaining Hebrews

11:1 as if it were the grand definition of faith — a definition which defines faith as blind faith.

“Faith is the substance (assurance, guarantee)

of things hoped for, the evidence (convincing proof)

of things not seen.”

Certainly, this scripture can be interpreted as a definition of blind faith, but only if asked to stand apart from its context. When interpreted within the context of Hebrews, chapters 10-12, this statement becomes a powerful statement about faith now-results later trust in a known God with an impeccable character and a perfect record of faithfulness to His word.

Therefore, those who trust in God in the face of the unknown, trust Him on the basis of what they already know about Him. The history of God provides enough knowledge to provide an unshakable basis for faith when faced with the unknown. Even though we don’t always know where our trust in God will lead us (i.e., Abraham leaving his father’s land for an unknown place), or what awaits us (i.e., Daniel, as he was being tossed in the lions’ den), we are not exercising blind faith.

Such unknowns, be they good or bad, do not change the fact that our faith is in a known God with a known history of trustworthiness.

The

Apostle Paul said, “Nothing can separate us from

God’s love. Neither affliction, nor distress, nor persecution, nor hunger, nor the lack of housing or clothes, nor danger, nor war — none of these is proof that God has stopped being our premier provider and protector. In fact, by

God’s doing, we overwhelmingly come through all difficulties, victorious.” (Note: Romans 8:35-39)

How do we know nothing can separate us from God’s love? How do we know He will bring us victoriously through everything and anything?

God’s history.

Having been created as rational, thinking beings, we have the ability to research, observe, test, categorize, compile, and draw conclusions.

Therefore, we can look into history and learn about God’s character, His purposes in creation and salvation, His ways of dealing with mankind, His commandments, and His coming judgment as it relates to those who love and obey Him and to those who reject Him.

For this reason, Jesus likened faith in God to child-like faith. Children face the unknown secure in believing their parents are both able and eager to care for them, whatever comes. When a child questions his parents’ ability to keep him safe in the face of, what is to the child, an unknown, the parents reach into history and assure the child their reputation is reason enough for the child to trust them now. Should the child persist in distrust, the parents will feel hurt that their good record is not enough to bring forth trust from their child. But more than that, the child will miss out on the good his parents could have done for him, had he trusted them.

Therefore, God-focused faith is not blind faith. It is rational faith, reasonable faith, thoughtful faith, and intentional faith. In the face of the unknown, it is trusting in God’s established patterns of provision, protection, wisdom, and promise keeping. This faith in the known enables us to face the unknown, secure in the confidence that

God is our provider and protector. This faith in the known motivates us to live God-honoring, Christ-like, community-centered, love-controlled lives in spite of the risks involved.

No. 3: Bible Knowledge

Common to all human experience is the fact that we trust what someone says to the degree we trust the person himself. We distrust the sincerity of people’s promises and the wisdom of their advice to the same measure we distrust their dependability and sincere concern for our well-being. Let a father offer the best, most sensible advice to his teenage son, and let it be advice that goes against what the son wants. The son will reject it before his father finishes speaking if the son lacks whole-hearted trust in his father’s genuinely unselfish concern for his well-being (no prideful, narrow-minded, power-hungry, or other self-serving motives).

The point is, it is unnatural for us to believe in, or rely on, what someone says if we do not trust the person himself.

Therefore, the correlation between trust in God (His character and reputation) and obedience to God’s

Word (His handbook on how to live) is not unique.

We live as God says to live to the same measure we trust His unselfish concern for our well-being, His ability to provide for our needs, and

His power to protect us from harm. In other words, we need unwavering trust in God’s character, unshakable trust in His power, and undaunted trust in His promises to whole-heartedly, boldly, and faithfully live according to His Word.

Truly, the written Word of God, made clear through the illuminating work of God’s Holy Spirit within us, is a vast source of knowledge on which to build God-focused faith. Through God’s empowerment, the Bible becomes a teacher to whom we can go for instruction; a reprover of wrong choices and behavior; a corrector of attitudes, interests, commitments, and direction; and a trainer who will get us into godly shape. From the story of creation to

John’s vision of heaven coming down to inhabit a purified earth, the Bible gives us all the information necessary to live a

Christ-like life through the exercise of God-focused faith. (Note: II

Timothy 3:16-17)

To have access to a Bible means we have access to the kind of knowledge which breeds great faith. To know less than we ought, based on the availability of a Bible and our level of maturity, means our lack of faith-building knowledge is due to inexcusable laziness, carelessness, or procrastination. Therefore, to trust God less than we can (determined by the availability of His written Word and what we know or could know because of it), means our distrust in those areas is inexcusably deliberate.

God’s Word is a deep well of knowledge for all to draw from.

This knowledge is vital to an ongoing, expanding, maturing, whole-life, life-long exercise of God-focused faith. To neglect it is to invite disaster. To draw from its depths is to build great faith leading to true life, now and forevermore.

No. 4: Reasonableness and Reality

For faith to be exercised in a rational and practical way it must be placed in that which is reasonable and built on that which is real. This is especially important in relation to God-focused faith. Trusting in anything other than that which is reasonable and real adds unwanted problems, difficulties, and hardship to our lives.

Placing faith in the unreasonable primarily happens when we act according to our selfish interests rather than wisdom. The gambler who believes he is skilled enough to beat the house odds, and then gambles until he is in debt, is a classic example of trusting in the unreasonable. The employee who sets aside “laying up treasure in heaven” to seek financial security in the workplace, especially in an age when businesses are bought by profit hungry conglomerates or downsized for profitability, is a common example of faith in the unreasonable. The Christian who believes God’s great concern is to save sinners from the penalty of sin so that he feels safe in continuing to do what he knows is wrong in certain areas, is the ultimate example of faith in the unreasonable.

Sadly, modern-day preaching seems laden with exhortations to place faith in the unreasonable. In this day of “seeker”

churches, mega-churches, and dying denominations, preachers woo adherents by teaching they can trust in Christ for salvation from the penalty of sin while saying nothing critical about the practice of known sin. They claim faith for salvation from hell is essential, while making it seem that the faith which produces love of God and man is an option. (Note: Titus 2:11-14; I John 3:6-10; 4:7-8). In an effort to make the American dream the Christian dream, preachers teach their flocks how to exercise faith in God’s promises for wealth, while failing to teach that the accumulation of possessions and the hoarding of finances is equal to worshiping idols (Note: Luke

16:19-31; I Timothy 6:8-10,17-19; Colossians 3:5). Wanting to restore the miraculous grandeur of the early Church, preachers teach faith in the healing work of God without making it clear that an insincere, or lackadaisical, or neglected pursuit of godliness is often a relational cause of sickness (Note: I Corinthians 11:27-32; James 5:14-16). And sadly, the call to trust in the unreasonable or unreal doesn’t stop with these examples. Religious leaders call their followers to put faith in icons and other paraphernalia to gain riches, healing, protection from evil spirits, and other such things.

Truly, faith in the unreasonable should be seen for what it is — the use of faith for personal gain.

In contrast to faith in the unreasonable, faith in the unreal is foolish faith. Everyone has moments when they wish that what is wasn’t, or what isn’t will be. But foolish people think that by believing long enough and hard enough, they can make what is disappear, or make what isn’t appear. To clarify this point, consider this promise made by Jesus. “Listen carefully. All things that you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received them, and they shall be yours.” (Note:

Mark 11:24)

This promise, with its two important words, all things, can only be rightly used when understood within the framework of reality. At first reading it may seem that Jesus is telling us we can ask God for anything we want. It seems the only condition is that we believe it is already ours, and we will receive it. Yet we are wise enough to know such a promise would be unsafe, and ultimately destructive, in the hands of untaught, naive, or unscrupulous and selfish people.

Therefore, reality tells us this promise is not a blank check for getting anything we want so long as sufficient faith accompanies our request. Yet many who are involved in Christianity think that with sufficient faith they can move God to give them a trouble-free life with perfect health, increasing wealth, a fantastic spouse, an ideal job with an exemplary boss, and magnificent weather on picnic days.

Such faith is faith in the unreal. It is foolish faith which ignores the reality of God’s individual and universal purposes. It ignores our need to mature so we can love as God loves. It disregards the inherent personal costs of seeking the good of others. It forgets the fact that godly living always results in some suffering as evil resists being overcome by good. (Note: I Peter 1:6-9; James 1:2-4;

Philippians 2:3-8; II Timothy 3:12; Matthew 5:10-12)

The ultimate example of faith in the unreal is faith in faith. It is believing that faith is the most powerful force in the universe. It is believing that even God becomes an instrument in our hands to do our bidding when we exercise sufficient faith. How foolish. No matter how much faith we have, or what we put our faith in, God will never act contrary to His character, or against our good. He will never spoil us, or give us what will harm us. Therefore, to exercise God-focused faith in a rational and practical way we must put our trust in the reasonable and the real.

No. 5: An Expanding Circle of Application

God-focused faith ought to grow — not in strength, but in its application to more and more areas of life. For most of us,

God-focused faith starts small — trusting in God for one or several specific things where we have come to see trust as necessary. Yet it is God’s intention, and it ought to be our intention, that our God-focused faith grows to cover most, if not every area of life. We may think and talk as if this is growth in the strength of our faith. But it isn’t. It is growth in the application of our faith.

Many misunderstand this principle. They think faith (and especially God-focused faith) mingled with unbelief, or faith mingled with skepticism, or faith mingled with self-centered caution is weak faith needing to be strengthened. But this is not true. Anything less than faith, such as faith mingled with unbelief or skepticism or self-centered caution, is not faith. It may be a step in the direction of faith, but it is a step caught somewhere between unbelief and faith.

Therefore, it is not yet faith. It isn’t even weak faith needing to be strengthened. It is indecision or inquiring unbelief trying to decide if it wants to go all the way to faith.

Acting on this misconception, the disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith. He responded by telling two parables.

In his first parable, Jesus said that if they had faith like a mustard seed, they could tell a mulberry tree to uproot itself and plant itself in the sea, and it would be done. Because we tend to think in terms of weak faith/strong faith, Jesus’ example of telling a mulberry tree to uproot itself and plant itself in the sea sounds like he is talking about strong faith, exceptional faith, extraordinary faith — the kind of miracle-working faith we wish for but never seem to have. Yet this was not Jesus’ point. He was not using the mustard seed as an example of great, miracle-working faith, but rather plain or genuine faith. He was not telling the disciples how to have greater faith. He was telling them how to have faith, itself. To see the truth of this, read on.

The mustard seed is a tiny seed which grows into the largest of plants, so large in fact, it looks like a tree. But to go from a tiny seed to a huge plant, the mustard seed must put faith in what it knows. There is no room for indecision or inquiring unbelief. In other words, the mustard seed must exercise faith in God’s promise that if it lies in the dark, damp soil and dies, it will rise to a new and better life. It must confidently place faith in God’s provision and protection if it is to intentionally forfeit the only life it has to find new life as a mustard plant. It must choose to risk everything it has at the moment to become something it can never be in its seedling state. Truly, it must totally, thoroughly, explicitly, unconditionally, unequivocally trust the God of nature and every law of nature it knows in order to travel the path from tiny seed to huge plant. If that tiny seed, because of unbelief, does anything other than what it knows is the right thing to do, it will go off to obscurity and lose what life it has. Now, this is not great faith, or exceptional or extraordinary faith. It is simply faith — faith in God and in what is known to be true and right.

Having made his point, Jesus switched to a parable about slaves. He pointed to the disciples’ common assumption that slaves are to do servants' work, and that masters naturally expect servants to do all that is required of them. Then Jesus asked this question.

“Would you think your servants were exceptionally good if they did what was asked of them?” With the obvious answer being no,

Jesus concluded by saying: “Then you too are only doing what is expected of you when (because of your faith in God)

you do all God commands you to do.” (Note: Luke 17:5-10)

Here again, Jesus is not talking about great faith, or exceptional or extraordinary faith. In fact, He makes it clear that living up to what we know the master (God) commands us to do is neither exceptional nor extraordinary. It is simply the ordinary, or at least ought to be the ordinary. Therefore, the faith required on our part to live up to what we know God is telling us to do is nothing more or less than ordinary, plain faith. Indeed, there is no faith of any kind which is greater than or can accomplish more than plain, ordinary, unadulterated trust in what we know to be true. Plain, ordinary faith is as great as faith can be.

Therefore, there is no greater God-focused faith than plain, ordinary

God-focused faith. This is faith at its minimum and at its greatest.

This is the faith that works miracles, beginning with the miracle of new birth.

Because faith produces behavior in keeping with the object of faith, we know we trust in God and rely on His Word when we are committed, and indeed make it our practice, to live up to what we know about God and

His Word. Now it is true that this faith can grow to embrace more areas of life as we learn more about God and His Word, but it cannot grow stronger. Faith is faith, and anything else is either unbelief, indecision, or inquiring unbelief stepping toward faith.

Therefore, God-focused faith will and ought to grow in application. And because this growth in application takes time, just as any growth takes time, some Christians will appear to have greater faith than others.

Yet it isn’t that they have more or stronger faith, it’s that they have a broader-based faith. Faith is faith — we either place our trust in someone or something or we remain undecided. In our undecided condition we may at times act as those who believe. Yet we will also, at times, act as those who do not believe. Why? Because we do not yet believe. We are still caught between unbelief and faith. We are still trying to decide if we want to go all the way to faith.

Finally, if you are struggling to trust God in an area of known sin, your problem is not weak faith. Your problem is unbelief getting in the way of faith. It is indecision about putting to death that part of yourself you know needs to die so new, Christ-like life can rise in its place. On the other hand, if some Christians are talking about faith in

God in an area you’ve never heard about or understood, your problem is not lack of faith but lack of knowledge. Learn what you need to learn about God and His Word related to faith in that area. Then apply your God-focused faith to the area so that you begin to live accordingly — validating your faith by your deeds.

In this way your faith will grow — not in strength, but in expansiveness of application.

The Power of God-Focused Faith to Save Us

According to God’s Word, anyone who does what he knows is wrong, has sinned. If we break God’s Law in just one area, it is as if we have broken the whole Law. The punishment for sinning, be it one or many sins, a seemingly insignificant or a heinous sin, is eternal damnation in hell. No sinner can pay this penalty in any other way than to spend eternity in hell. In other words, there is no way for sinners to buy or work or negotiate their way out of this punishment.

Just as no murderer can do enough good deeds or pay enough money or spend enough years in prison to restore his victim’s life, so no sinner can make up for sins in the past. Therefore, we need salvation from sin if we are to avoid eternal damnation in hell. (Note:

James 2:10, 4:17; Romans 3:23)

But herein lies a dilemma. Being prone to self-centeredness, we tend to focus our attention on being saved from the penalty of sin. And truly, we need to be saved from the penalty of sin if we are to avoid spending eternity in hell. But salvation from the penalty of sin, as if that were our greatest need, is an error in thinking prompted by self-interest. Our greatest need in relation to sin is to be saved from sin in its entirety, that is, from sin’s penalty, its enslaving power, and its practice. The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Roman Christians makes this clear when he says:

“Inconceivably, some think Christians can go on sinning because God’s grace is greater than their sin. Such thinking is totally wrong! First of all, what reasonable explanation can

Christians give for continuing in the practice of known sin when they have died to sin? Or is it possible we are so ignorant as to suppose we can be brought into union with Christ Jesus without, at the same time, being brought into union with his death? The truth is, if we have been joined to Christ, we have been joined to his death. Indeed, we have been buried with Christ so that just as he was raised from the dead through the magnificent power of God, so we too are raised by this same power to live an entirely new life — here and now.

Therefore, all who have put their faith in Christ for salvation from sin have been united with Christ’s death to sin so they can be united with Christ in being raised to a new life. This means that our old sin nature has been put to death and the enslaving power of sin has been broken. We never again have to serve sin. In fact, because of

Christ’s death and resurrection, sin has no more power over the Christian than it has over a dead person. But there is more. If we have been joined with Christ in his death to sin, we will also be joined with him in life, that is, eternal life. We know this is true because his death and resurrection were of such a nature as to free him from ever having to die again. Just like sin, death (be it physical or spiritual) no longer has any power over him. We also know this is true because the life which Christ now lives, he lives in service to God — doing the will of God and accomplishing the purposes of God. Therefore, I (the Apostle

Paul) have gone to these lengths to make this clear to you (the born-again Christian) so you will see yourself as dead to sin’s enslaving power and habitual practice, but alive to God so that you will live each day as those who live godly in Christ

Jesus — eagerly doing His will and cheerfully serving His purposes.” (Romans 6:1-11, author’s paraphrase)

The

Scriptures are clear about God’s salvation being a salvation which saves us from the penalty, the enslaving power, and the habitual practice of sin. Yet so many make so much of salvation from the penalty of sin and so little of salvation from the power and practice of sin that they make it seem as if the only part of salvation which really matters is salvation from the penalty of sin. Not only is this untrue, it is a self-serving misrepresentation of God, His justice, His holiness, and His love. Indeed, it is only a figment of our selfish imagination that God makes salvation from the penalty of sin an essential while making salvation from the power and practice of sin an optional package for an interested few. According to the Bible, Christ died for all, so that those who live (are born again)

would no longer live for themselves (self-centeredly), but for Christ — who died and rose again on their behalf. This does not mean the Christian becomes sinlessly perfect on the day of his new birth. But it does mean that when a person repents and places his faith in God for salvation from sin, he not only finds joy in his new freedom from sin’s penalty, he finds equal joy in his freedom from sin’s enslaving power and habitual practice. For this reason, he cheerfully chooses to diligently pursue (until his dying day) becoming all that God saved him to be. (Note:

John 3:36; Acts 3:19-26, 26:16-20; Romans 1:16-17, 2:5-11, 6:1-14,

22-32, 8:12-14, 29-30; I Corinthians 5:9-13; II Corinthians 5:14-15,

17-19; Galatians 5:24-25; Ephesians 2:8-10; Colossians 1:13-14; Titus

2:11-14; Hebrews 3:12-4:1, 9:11-14, 10:26-29; James 2:14-26; I John

2:3-6, 3:7-10, 4:7-8, 5:4; Philippians 3:12-14)

It is profoundly sad that we must go to such lengths to explain that

God’s intention is to save us from sin in its entirety, not just its penalty. Yet such is the condition of the Church today. It is full of people who are looking for a god who will serve their purposes and fulfill their interests. Wanting the best of God and the best of the sinful world, they expect God to pay their penalty for sin without requiring them to take seriously the need to put an end to the practice of known sin here and now. Wanting to live in heaven after they leave this earth, they expect God to receive them with open arms without having to take serious steps today to get rid of the behavior which offended and alienated them from Him in the first place. Though they know God wants them to love Him supremely, they treat Him as if such a relationship is optional while expecting Him to unequivocally fulfill

His promise of eternal life. Though they fight tooth-and-nail to deny this, their primary interest in God is an escape from future doom and eternal damnation. With this kind of thinking it is not surprising that so many in our churches today speak of salvation in terms which imply that the only salvation we need, and the only salvation God requires, is salvation from the penalty of sin.

Nevertheless, in spite of all the self-serving religious garbage being taught today, God-focused faith is saving faith. It is by faith in God that we are able to become partakers of God’s gracious and almost unfathomable salvation from sin. By placing our faith in the shed blood, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we are redeemed from the penalty of sin, released from the enslaving power of sin, and delivered from the habitual practice of sin.

And there is more. The inexpressible joy, the indescribable beauty, the incomparable richness, and the unsurpassed treasure of salvation is our reconciliation to God. To be graciously saved from sin is an unimaginable gift from our Father, God. But to be saved from alienation from God, so as to enjoy a mutual relationship of intimate communion and companionship with Him from the day of our salvation throughout eternity, is an even greater gift. It is from this perspective that we see that our salvation from sin, though wonderful in its own right, is made more wonderful because it opens the way for reconciliation to God and the restoration of a relationship of mutual love and trust with

God. Nothing is more precious. Nothing is more satisfying. And, nothing is more needful.

The Power of God-Focused Faith to Change Us

When we place our faith in God for salvation from sin we are born again. We are delivered from the empire of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of God’s dear Son. We change allegiances. We switch families. We trade fathers. In other words, our old, sinful, self-centered nature is dealt a death blow and we become new creatures with new natures being raised by a new father who intends to mold us into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

All this change brings about the need for more change. Having been born again, we are faced with the process of growing up and coming to spiritual maturity. Sinful habits, thought patterns, behaviors, compulsions, and addictions must be broken and dispossessed (put out of our lives). Godly habits, thought patterns, and behaviors must be learned, put in place of what we are dispossessing, and put into practice as our new “normal” way of doing things. Such all-encompassing, progressive, and seemingly endless change requires help, the kind of help which only God can provide. And

He does provide.

God makes available to every Christian everything necessary to live a godly life in this world. His provisions for godly living include the indwelling Holy Spirit, empowerment for doing what we know is right, the Bible, prayer, fellow believers, teachers and preachers, and precious and extraordinary promises which, when called upon, enable us to share in His nature. But how do we take hold of all that God provides, including His promises, so that we grow to spiritual maturity? How do we open ourselves to the training and leading of the

Holy Spirit? How do we enter into, cooperate with, and go the distance with our Father, God, in this growing up process so that we become all that He saved us to be? By faith — by God-focused faith. (Note: II Peter 1:3-4)

God says that we are to live like Christ and for Christ the same way we received him. And how did we receive Christ Jesus into our lives? By

God-focused faith. Therefore, by God-focused faith we throw our old sinful thoughts, attitudes, choices, words, and deeds overboard, and put godly thoughts, attitudes, choices, words, and deeds in their place. By God-focused faith we give up godless ways and worldly passions, making it our goal to live sensible, responsible, and godly lives today. By God-focused faith we break free from the love of money and choose to be content with what God provides, confident that He will never desert us in our time of need. By God-focused faith we embrace

God’s discipline, seeking to learn all we can from it so we can press on in becoming all He saved us to be. By God-focused faith we yield to the Holy Spirit’s leading so that we do not carry out our sinful desires. By God-focused faith we resist the devil in times of temptation, confident God will make him flee, so that we are free to do what we know is right. By God-focused faith we put on the full armor of God so we can remain faithful to God when bombarded by the tricks, deceptions, and schemes of the devil. By God-focused faith we count ourselves blessed when going through difficult times because we know that godly responses to such circumstances produce greater godliness, and that is what we want. By God-focused faith we lay up treasure in heaven, love our enemies, make the building of

God’s kingdom and the advancement of His righteous ways our primary goal in life, and live up to the knowledge we have of right and wrong. By God-focused faith we patiently endure the hardships and persecution which come from godly living, knowing that this is the example Christ set for us. By God-focused faith we ask for wisdom, trusting God to give us all we need for the situation at hand, so we can do what is right and good in the sight of God. By God-focused faith we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, trusting Him to exalt us at the right time and in the right way. (Note: Colossians 2:6-7)

When we come to God, through faith, we become a new person. Our old, sinful, self-centered ways pass away. New, morally virtuous, love-motivated,

God- and community-centered ways are put in their place. Our lives are radically changed — from distrust of God and going our own way to complete confidence in God’s goodness and living according to His Word. Then, we are faced with the life-long task of growing up, of putting off the old and putting on the new, of becoming like Christ, of responding to the Father’s instructions about how to live as a godly one in an ungodly world. We go through this process of change by faith just as we receive salvation from sin by faith. Therefore, we are changed by faith as we make use of all the provisions and promises God gives us to go the distance from sinner to saint.

The Power of God-Focused Faith to Sustain

Us

The

Christian life is not only demanding and challenging, it is costly, and even difficult at times. As Christians, we are faced with the brutal task of denying self and dying to self so that we can live for

Christ — the one who died and rose again on our behalf. We are humbled by the arduous and sometimes failure-ridden whole-life, life-long task of putting off our old sinful ways and replacing them with godly ways. We are pushed to our limits by the testing of our faith in the crucible of trying circumstances. We are challenged by the command to maintain the right attitude and a godly response in the face of unjust treatment. We are put to the test by the requirement to love our enemies and pray for those who make our lives miserable. We are expected to risk everything temporal in order to be

God’s virtue-preserving influence and truth-illuminating beacon in the world around us. We are asked to endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. And, we can anticipate persecution for doing what we know is right and asking others to do likewise.

When viewed from this perspective it is not surprising that Jesus said the road to life is narrow and only a few find it. But of those who do find it and travel that way, the temptation to give up and return to the old, familiar, comfortable, seemingly easier ways of selfishness and worldliness press in on them from all directions. And though they may never return to the sinfulness of their past, many Christians, out of weariness or discouragement or an unwillingness to endure the rigors of further growth and Christ-like living, make their current level of spiritual maturity their final level. Truly, we need help to persevere to the end — not just to enter the narrow road but to remain faithful to the “Lord of the narrow way”

until we see him face-to-face.

Thankfully, help is available. God will give us all the help we need to face the demands, challenges, costs, and difficulties of living the

Christian life. And how do we obtain this help? By faith. For this reason, God says the righteous live by faith. But if they turn back to their old ways, instead of persevering to the end, He will find no pleasure in them. (Note: Hebrews 10:32-39)

To persevere to the end we must place our faith in God and trust Him to be our all-sufficient provider and protector. To faithfully pursue godliness in every area of our life and for the rest of our life, we must trust in God’s provision and protection in order to have the confidence

He will bring to completion the good work of changing us begun at the time of our salvation. To consistently love others as ourselves, we must trust in God’s provision and protection in order to have the confidence we can never do more for others than God is doing and will do for us. To remain faithful in the midst of trials and testing, to persist to be salt and light in a dark and unsavory world, to risk so much of that which is temporal for the sake of that which is eternal, we must trust in God’s provision and protection in order to be convinced He will work all things out for good as we love Him and live according to His will. To put our jobs, family, homes, health, future security, and even our life on the line for righteousness sake, we must trust in God so we can confidently say that nothing, absolutely nothing, is able to separate us from His love. (Note:

Philippians

1:6; Luke 6:38; Romans 8:28, 35-39)

Therefore I beg of you, do not be like those who give up under pressure and return to the momentary ease and gratifying pleasures of sin.

God-focused faith is sustaining faith, and by it we can be sustained by

God so as to remain faithful to God from the first day of our salvation to the first day of seeing Him face-to-face.

In Summary

Everyone lives by faith, and the way we live shows in what and in whom we have placed our faith. This means faith is never mere agreement with information or the acknowledgement that certain facts are true. Faith is the act of trusting in something or someone to the degree that we live according to the object of our faith. This is why behavior mirrors faith. Therefore, how we treat others — especially those nearest and dearest, how we spend our money, the things we accumulate, the entertainments we seek, what we depend on for security, how we respond to human need, our business practices, how well we keep our word, what we do about known sin in our life, the thoughts we entertain, the attitudes we condone in ourselves, and the value we place on relationships shows what we believe and where we have placed our faith.

God-focused faith brings us into the saving work of God, a reconciled and intimate relationship of communion and companionship with God, freedom from the enslaving power and habitual practice of sin, a life which is progressively being conformed to the likeness of Jesus, empowerment for godly living, living for God, and eternity with God.

Truly, God is worthy of our faith. His promises are worthy of our trust. His Word is worthy of complete obedience. Any doubt concerning the character of God results in suspicious distrust of God. Any distrust of God results in distrust of His intentions for us and His dealings with us. Whenever our distrust of God meets the deeper longings of our flesh, or the harsher realities of life, we will disregard God and His Word and go our own way. We will do what we think is best. This is unbelief. And unbelief always leads to sin. It cannot be any other way.

What about your faith? Who and what is your confidence in? Of course, you’ve put your faith in many people and many things, but who is the primary focus of your faith? Is it God? If it is God, is your faith such that you’ve put your life in His hands? Have you gotten into His wheelbarrow? Do you trust Him completely?

Are your claims of faith validated by your choices and behavior? If you would answer yes to this question, would the people most affected by you agree with you? Are you justifying or ignoring known sin in your life? Are you living up to what you know? These are the questions you must answer, if not in this life, then certainly when you stand before

God. Choose the way of God-focused faith, today!

No

Other Foundation
Book 2
Needful Truths for

Children of Light

Chapter Four
Deliverance from the Power and Practice of Sin

The

Contents Of This Chapter

- Deliverance from the Power and Practice of Sin

- Why Knowledge,

Alone, Is Not Enough

- Why Fear and Hope

Are Not Enough

- God's Power Is

Enough to Free Us

- Many Resist God's

Efforts to Free Them

- God Speaks to This

Issue

- In Summary

Deliverance from the Power and Practice of

Sin

Sin is any thought, choice, word, or deed that unjustly and unnecessarily causes another to suffer — including God. It is acting in a manner that seeks our own good to the neglect of or at the expense of another’s good — including

God’s good. It is doing to others — including God — what we do not want others to do to us. It is knowing the right thing to do, yet willfully choosing not to do it or carelessly neglecting to do it. Therefore, whether immediately or ultimately, directly or indirectly, obviously or inconspicuously, cruelly or gently, in the home or in the community, sin is evil because it results in unjust and unnecessary suffering by all who are adversely affected by it — including God.

Sin is the driving force behind inhumanity, brutality, genocide, the ravages of war, ruthlessness, racism, rape, murder, greed, immorality, dishonesty, alcoholism, drug addiction, unsafe neighborhoods, divorce, broken homes, unkindness, disrespect, lack of compassion, and every other kind of cruelty forced on humans by humans. It is the culprit behind every shallow, damaged, and broken relationship — be it in the home, or between friends, co-workers, fellow citizens, people groups, or nations. Truly, all sin is heinous because all sin eventually, inevitably, and cruelly harms all who are directly or indirectly affected by it.

If sin is so heinous, why do so many of us sin so often? If we know the difference between right and wrong, why do we do what we know is wrong — repetitively, deliberately, and even eagerly? If we don’t want others to sin against us, why do we so casually or justify sinning against them? If we want the good feelings and security of being loved, or at least accepted and respected, why do we treat others in ways that make them feel disrespected and unloved? Why are we so willing to cheapen, damage, and even destroy important relationships for purely personal gain, self-pleasure, or irrational fears? Why do we overlook, justify, defend, and even cherish certain sins? And when we want to do what is right, why do we find it so hard to do what is right and so easy to do what is wrong? Why does a sincere effort to continually do what is right seem like work, while doing what is wrong seems so effortless?

Why, when we hate certain sins, do we end up committing the very sins we hate? Why, when we work and struggle to do what is right, do we still fall short of our intentions? And why do we do well for a time only to stumble back into our old sinful ways as if nothing had changed?

There is only one answer to all these “whys.” We are born sinners. We come out of the womb with a sinful nature which affects every fiber of our being. We enter this world self-centered, and it isn’t long thereafter that the seeds of distrust begin to sprout toward those we are dependent on to promote and protect our happiness and well-being, including, and especially, God. In fact, by the time we reach our late teens it is the combination of our self-centeredness and distrust of God which becomes the life-force of our sin nature.

Though this is not the explanation for human personality, it is the explanation for the universality of sin. Everyone has acted self-centered, and deliberately so. Everyone has looked out for his own interests, and has done so at the expense of others. Everyone has done what he knows is wrong. Everyone has broken God’s commandments by acting according to what he thinks is best for himself.

Yet there is more. To this inherent and natural propensity for sin we add the fact that we are born into a world dominated by sinners who take pride in their sinning. We are raised in a home where self-centeredness is too often favored over love, where double standards are rampant, and where relationships are disposable. We live in a community where self-centeredness is treated as normal and wrong is passed off as right. We are part of a nation which worships money and success with insufficient concern as to how they are gotten or who gets hurt in the process.

With sin in us and all around us, we grow indifferent to the evil of sin in general. And though we hate certain sins, we cherish others, especially those which we deem important or advantageous to our happiness and well-being. These are the sins we commit without a pang of conscience, a sense of guilt, or a moment of remorse. In fact, we don’t see our treasured sins as sin at all but rather the means to security and happiness when faced with the difficulties and disappointments of life. Because of all this, even the best of us grow to adulthood willfully practicing one or more things we know are wrong, and therefore, sin.

However, most of us see ourselves as generally good, genuinely well-meaning, and therefore, hardly sinful. We accomplish this feat of self-veneration by comparing ourselves to those we consider to be far worse sinners than ourselves. By consistently comparing ourselves to the worst among us, our sins seem small and insignificant, and our sinful nature seems almost non-existent. Yet we sin for the same reasons the most abominable sinner sins — self-centeredness mingled with distrust of God. The harm done to others by our sin is just as unnecessary and unjust as that done by the worst of sinners. And though we may generally appear to be kind and loving, we cheapen, damage, and even destroy relationships just like the most sinful among us.

What can be done? How can we stop sinning? How can we put an end to our stupid, unloving, self-destructive, other-people-destructive, relationship-damaging choices and behavior? How can we stop undermining, and even destroying the very things that make life worth living (i.e., a shared relationship with God based on mutual love and trust, personal integrity, a loving and nurturing family, a safe, caring, and just community where everyone's good is promoted and protected, and a nation where peace and prosperity are the norm)?

To put an end to self-centeredness and its consequent sin, sinners must be delivered from sin’s controlling power and enslaving influence. But who can free us from our natural predisposition to rebel against God and go our own way? Who can liberate us from our recurring desires to do what we know is wrong? Who can take away our desire to look out for our own interests at the expense of others? Who can bring an end to our craving for the benefits and pleasures of sin? Who can unchain us from our slavery to the practice of our treasured sins? Who can protect us from the forces of evil — from Satan, his co-workers, and their relentless efforts to tempt us to sin? Who can shield us from the nagging pressure to join our peers in doing what we know is wrong? Who can deliver us from the curse of sin?

God, driven by His concern for our good and His desire for a relationship of mutual love and trust with us, has done everything necessary to deliver us from sin. Through His son, Jesus Christ, God has broken sin’s hold over us. Therefore, though born in sin, we do not have to remain subjugated to the controlling power and enslaving influence of sin. Though alienated from God because of our sin, we can be reconciled to Him, now and throughout eternity. Though self-centered by birth, we can become people of love who want good for others as much as we want good for self. Though anything but godly, we can become

Christ-like. Though in this world, we need not be like the world because God will empower us to resist temptation and do what we know is right. Though condemned to eternal damnation in hell, we can be forgiven and reside in heaven with God, forever. (Note:

II Corinthians 5:17-19; Romans 8:2; Colossians 1:13; John

16:7-11)

Truly, God has provided the solution to our sin problem. He has done everything necessary to provide us with everything we could possibly need to live a godly, Christ-like life right here and right now. And without question, apart from His intervention, provision, and participation in our life, we will remain enslaved to sin and damned to eternal banishment in hell. Therefore, we desperately need

God’s deliverance.

God’s plan of deliverance is a complete plan. It frees us from the power of sin. It releases us from the practice of sin. It rescues us from the penalty of sin. It enlists our voluntary, cheerful, intentional participation, because by nature we resist being changed against our will. It makes us new creatures in Christ, transforming us from self-centered sinners into godly-living, love-compelled, others-focused, servant-minded, Christ-ones. It begins at the initial point of our repentance and placement of faith in God, and continues forever. The only requirement to experience this great plan of salvation is to trust God implicitly, which we cannot do without also obeying Him explicitly. And though this saving process may not make us perfect while we yet live on this earth, we will be made perfect when we leave this world and enter God’s heavenly kingdom. (Note:

Titus 2:11-14; I Thessalonians 4:3; Romans 6:4-11, 22;

II Corinthians 5:14-15; II Peter 1:3-11; Philippians 1:6; Jude

24-25)

Why Knowledge, Alone, Is Not Enough

The

Ten Commandments, along with the rest of the Pentateuch (first five books of the Old Testament), make up the first known written word given to us by God. Since that time, God has provided additional written material containing instructions on how to live. He has done this through stories about life-experiences, stories of people

He has dealt with and how He dealt with them, poetry, wisdom literature, prophetic words about the future, exhortations, four biographies of Christ, church history, letters to new churches, and information about the end of the world as we know it today. This is all found in the Christian Bible.

In studying the Bible, we discover that God’s grand purpose for us can be stated in one word: love. God wants us to love Him, first and foremost. He wants us to love one another in an emotionally-healthy, intellectually-rational, relationship-developing way. That is, God wants us to love in a way that seeks and secures the good of everyone affected in any way by our choices and behavior. If we then study our repetitive choices and behavior, examining them in light of what

God’s Word says, we see that we often prefer selfishness and the ease of sin over selflessness and the challenges of love. And too often, we know what is right, yet we deliberately do what we know is wrong.

How do we explain the disparity between what we know and how we live? How do we explain our claim to agree with God’s Word while making choices and behaving in ways that transgress His Word? Could it be that knowing what is right is not enough to make us, or compel us, or motivate us, or empower us to do what is right?

We all begin life as children. Children naturally look out for their own interests, because that is all they know. They are, by nature, self-centered, because that is as far as they can think. In a small, helpless child this is neither bad nor good. It is a child’s way of surviving. But we do not remain small, helpless children. We grow up. Yet, sad to say, most of us cling to self-centeredness as if it were our only means of survival in a difficult world filled with difficult people.

However, our predisposition to self-centeredness is not the only influence driving us to sin. The influence of our parents, peers, society, and various media further promote and reinforce our self-centeredness.

In spite of the good our parents do, they too struggle with self-centeredness. As a result, they model selfish behavior. And just as their good ways encourage us to goodness, so their selfish ways reinforce our bent toward self-centeredness. Whatever our age, we are surrounded by peers who believe self-centeredness is the wisest principle by which to live. This constant pressure feeds our bent toward self-centeredness. Then there is our society with its moral attitudes, family values, economic beliefs, consumerism, business ethics, and social classes — all of which are shaped by people’s self-centeredness. Books, magazines, newspapers, television programs, movies, music, and most of the advertisements that accompany this media extol the wisdom of making the pursuit of personal pleasure our greatest goal, and the accumulation of things our greatest accomplishment. Over and over again, they proclaim that happiness and self-worth are the direct result of what we do for ourselves and/or what we possess. One would have to be mindless not to see that this feeds our bent toward selfishness.

Beyond the internal and the external pressures, Satan and his co-workers continually tempt us, in every way imaginable, to choose selfishness over love and sin over righteousness. This brings us to the problem of addiction.

Like cocaine, alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine, sin is addictive. Once we experience the convenience of sin and the quick-acting, self-serving pleasures and benefits of sin, it is hard to go back to the hard work and delayed gratification of doing what we know is right. The more we choose to sin, the more our choice to sin is reinforced by the self-indulging benefits of sin. The more we enjoy the benefits of sin, the more we are driven to sin. Then, with the addiction comes denial — denial that we are repetitively doing what we know is wrong, denial that we have an addiction problem, and denial that we need help. Such is the cycle of addiction. And like any addiction, once we are hooked, the addiction creates a sense of dependence that drives us back to choose sin, again and again.

Therefore, in spite of what we know about right and wrong, in spite of what we know about the Ten Commandments or the entire Bible, knowledge is not enough to break sin’s hold on us. Knowledge cannot make us do what is right. In fact, we can know exactly what sins we treasure, how they destroy us, how they unnecessarily harm others, and the right thing to do, and still do what we know is wrong.

True, we need knowledge. And often, the more the better. But just as knowledge is not enough to break the hold of alcohol in the alcoholic, or drugs in the drug addict, so it is not enough to break the power of sin in the sinner. What we need, along with knowledge, is a power greater than the power of sin to enable us, indeed empower us, to win the battle against the addictively enslaving power of sin. (Note:

Romans 7:14-17)

Why Fear and Hope Are Not Enough

We were not created for an atmosphere ruled by fear and hope, or the stick and carrot, or punishment and reward. The need for these methods of constraint or motivation is the direct result of sin. How do we know this is true? Fear and hope constrain us from wrong-doing and motivate us to right-doing by arousing the most formidable foe of love and love-based relationships — self-centeredness. Fear and hope attain their power to persuade by appealing to our self-interest.

We see the truth of this when dealing with young children, unruly teenagers, and unscrupulous or vile adults. Young children must be motivated to right behavior through fear and hope because they lack the intellectual maturity to understand the principle of love and then regulate their behavior accordingly. They need someone to set boundaries for them. Then they need someone to enforce those boundaries so they do what is right. Unruly teenagers, and adults who refuse to live according to the community-good, prove by their anti-social behavior that they have no intention of promoting and protecting the good of everyone affected by their choices and behavior. They don’t want to love others as they love themselves. Thus, the use of reason to appeal to their conscience and sense of community good is of no effect. This means the only method left to protect the public good is to use the tactics of fear and hope in an effort to constrain their wrong-doing and motivate them to do what is right.

Now it should be clear from these three examples that fear and hope, to be effective, must appeal to our self-interest. It motivates us to right behavior by activating our concern for our own well-being. Young children do what is right, not because they understand the principle of love and wish to apply it in all their dealings with others. They do what is right because they fear punishment and/or long for the benefits of doing what their parents want. Unruly teenagers and self-centered adults respond to fear and hope, not out of concern for the good of others, but because someone has raised the cost of wrong-doing to the point of exceeding its benefits. Therefore, to accomplish

God’s creative purposes, right behavior (promoting and protecting the good of everyone affected in any way by our choices and behavior) must come from a loving regard for the good of others. Consider the following line of reasoning.

Only when we willingly deny self (crucify the flesh with its passions and desires, or voluntarily choose to lose our life for the sake of doing good for others) can we be motivated by the pure desire to seek the good of others (love). Only when we are motivated by love can we own (believe in, hold as our own conviction) the right and good things God commands us to do. Only when we own the right and good things God commands us to do can we do it voluntarily and cheerfully (without external coercion, of our own free-will, free of any motive related to self-centeredness) — especially in the face of harassment, rejection, torment, abuse, oppression, and torture.

Only when we voluntarily and consistently seek the good of others do they feel sincerely loved by us. Only when two or more people voluntarily and consistently seek the good of each other can they enter into a relationship built on mutual love and trust. Only when a relationship is built on mutual love and trust is the good of both parties zealously protected. Therefore, such love and trust based relationships become the only possible basis for communities where the good of each individual is protected by everyone, and everyone is sincerely loved. And you say, “So what!” And I say, it is for this — being active participants in

God’s love-based community — that we were created.

Do not miss this point: the motives of fear and hope can neither give birth to nor sustain loving communities or individual relationships built on mutual love and trust. Fear and hope fail to bring us to love because they use the power of self-interest to motivate us to action.

This means fear and hope keep self-centeredness alive in an effort to accomplish its goals. We need release from, indeed the death of self-centeredness, if we are to move on to loving God supremely and others as ourselves. Since, therefore, fear and hope depend on self-centeredness to motivate us, you can be certain they cannot deliver us from the power and practice of sin because the power and practice of sin find their life in our self-centeredness.

Therefore, any plan, program, system, psychological method, philosophy, or religious teaching which claims to change behavior, yet appeals to or in any way supports self-centeredness in accomplishing its claim, may free us from one or several specific behaviors, but never from the all-pervasive power and practice of sin. These efforts undoubtedly can produce localized changes in behavior, but they cannot free us from a whole-life, life-long commitment to the good of self through the practice of cherished sins. We need God’s comprehensive, resurrection, bondage-breaking, redemptive power to set us free from the power of sin. Then, we need God’s indwelling Holy Spirit, enlightenment, promises, leading, refining, and protection from temptation greater than our current ability to resist, to remain free from the practice of sin.

The power of sin to affect our lives is like the power of gravity. We cannot break the power of gravity without the aid of some greater power beyond our human power. An example of a greater power would be an airplane. By making proper use of an airplane’s power, we can freely and safely break the law of gravity. In the same way, we cannot break the stranglehold of self-centeredness and the all-pervasive power of sin without the aid of some greater power beyond our human power.

Certainly knowledge, and the motivating power of fear and hope, can aid us in making some changes for the better. But we cannot overcome sin’s potent influence over us, we cannot break sin’s addictive shackles, and we cannot crush self-centeredness without the power of God. Truly, what we cannot do for ourselves, God does for us. By making proper use of God’s power, we can freely and safely face each day as freedmen, as fully recovered addicts, as new creations in Christ Jesus, as people committed to the good of everyone affected in any way by our choices and behavior (especially God). (Note: Romans

7:18-25)

God's Power Is Enough to Free Us

God knows exactly what we need to live selflessly and godly in this sin-sick, self-centered world. He has devised and developed every tool and resource necessary to make what seems impossible (dying to self and sin — living for God and others), possible. And without question, everything He provides is ours for the using. He holds nothing back.

Of course, God’s having made all the necessary provisions for godly living, and having made all those provisions available to us, implies we have a part in the process. To be set free from the power, practice, and penalty of sin, we must repent. To remain free from the practice of sin and resist the temptation to sin, we must do as God says.

In other words, God has broken the power of sin. The next move is up to us. To receive the benefit of what God has done we must want the power of sin broken in our life. We take our first step in this direction by repenting and placing our faith in God. We take our next step in this direction by denying self and giving our attention to living as God says to live. We go further in this direction by making good use of

God’s power and resources to break our well-entrenched sinful habits and thought patterns and replace them with godly habits and thought patterns. And we go our greatest distance in this direction as we do our part to nurture a relationship of intimate communion and companionship with God.

The important point here is that deliverance from the power and practice of sin is a two-sided work — God’s and ours.

What we can and ought to do, God will not do. He uses no magic. He offers no miracle cure. And He never forces us against our will.

Indeed, such forcing cannot produce a changed life. Think about this.

We sometimes confine an alcoholic or drug addict to dry him out — get the demon brew or toxic drug out of his system. We often do this against the alcoholic or drug addict's will so as to get him in a reasonably sane condition to make a decision for sobriety. Once the decision is made, he must act according to his will in working out his decision. Apart from a voluntary, purposeful decision for sobriety, he will return to his drug of choice. In this same way, we must voluntarily choose and purposefully do our part if God’s gift of freedom from the power and practice of sin is to have its intended effect.

But before examining our part, let us focus on what God has done, and will do, to free us from the power and practice of sin. Since this chapter follows the chapters on repentance and faith, we will assume the reader understands what God has done for us through the sacrifice of His son on the cross. The following scriptures speak to the work of God in the

Christian’s life following repentance and conversion.

Contemplate the provisions of God identified in these scriptures.

God promises He will create new heavens and a new earth where all who repent and trust in Him will one day live. This new place will be like nothing we know here on earth. The difference will be the atmosphere — not the air we breathe, but the people with whom we live. Love will rule supreme. There will be no broken or damaged relationships, no broken homes, no abused or battered children, no mistreated spouses, no racial or gender discrimination, no hatred or hostility or violence of any kind, no criminals, no dishonest businessmen, no hunger or homelessness, no injustice, no sickness or suffering, no natural disasters, nor anything that is in any way harmful to the well-being of anyone who is there. For those who repent and begin to live as Christ lived and love as God loves, the assurance of such a place is a powerful incentive to make use of all God provides to free us from the power of sin and put an end to the practice of sin. It motivates us to reject the immediate, appealing, often pleasurable, self-gratifying benefits of self-love for the never-ending benefits of selfless love. It enables us to rejoice that this world is not our home, and to live as those who are only passing through. It reinforces the fact that the rewards of doing what we know is right are eternal, while the rewards of doing what we know is wrong are temporary, at best. (Note: John 14:1-4)

God takes up residence within everyone who repents and puts their faith in

Him. Once within, He imparts to us His nature, wisdom, power, and character qualities like a tree imparts its life to its branches, and then to the leaves and fruit those branches bear. When He is in us, we are able to make good use of His power, wisdom, and character qualities in becoming all that He saved us to be. In other words, we are not left to our own powers of intellect, self-motivation, self-discipline, natural ability, or family influence. God moves in. He joins His life to ours, making it realistic to say, “It is no longer I, but

Christ who lives in me.” For those who know how sinful they are, this is not only a wonderful provision from God, it is a necessary one. (Note: John 15:1-8; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 2:19-22)

By

His power, God reclaims our intellect and conscience. When we are living as unbelievers it is hard to see the strength of the chains that bind us to self-centered and self-deceived thinking. It is hard to see that our conscience barely functions as it ought. It is hard to see that we are as evil as the vilest of sinners. Truly, our sin-dulled intellect and our malfunctioning conscience need reclaiming. What we have destroyed through misuse, God restores through His power. Because of God’s doing, our intellect and conscience can be renewed, and therefore, effectively used for discovering, evaluating, and implementing truth about right and wrong. And beyond that, a renewed intellect and conscience enables us to discern the will of God, to see ourselves as we are, and to know when we are going off the path of godliness. (Note: Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 4:22-24; Hebrews 9:14; I

Timothy 1:5)

For our benefit, God has given us His Word in a readable, understandable form. We call it the Bible. The Bible teaches us about God’s character, His wisdom, His intentions for us, and the ways in which He deals with us. The Bible, through its historical accounts, teaches us about ourselves, our sinful nature, our need for God, and what we can be if we will put our faith in God. The Bible teaches us how to subdue our selfish inclinations, how to end our foolish pursuit of shallow pleasures, and how to flee self-destroying riches. It instructs us in the ways of love — love that seeks and secures the good of everyone affected by our choices and behavior. By evaluating our thoughts, words, and deeds against its message, the Bible is able to correct us when we go astray. And it is able to train us in living a mature, sensible, rational life devoted to the service of God and to loving others as we love ourselves. This is another of God’s provisions which enable us to remain free from the power and practice of sin. (Note: II Timothy 3:16-17)

By

His power, God created the universe in such a way as to reveal His eternal power, His divine nature, and His invisible attributes. He created us in such a way that we are able to look at what He has made and see in it His unrivaled power, His holy nature, and the quality of

His character. All that He has made testifies to His longing for meaningful relationships, His love which seeks the good of all, His kindness and mercy, His willingness to forgive, His patience with sinners, His holiness, and His justice for all. Seeing what God has done and how He operates in the natural world teaches us the wisdom of placing our lives in His hands and relying on Him for the help we need to remain free from the overwhelming power and ever-beguiling practice of sin. (Note: Romans 1:18-20)

In response to our human frailties, God gives us His Holy Spirit to educate us, empower us, and guide us. He places us in the Body of

Christ so we can receive the support, encouragement, nurturing, and discipline we need to grow to maturity. He gives wisdom on request. And if we will immerse ourselves in building His kingdom and establishing

His righteousness in the world around us, he will provide for all our physical needs (i.e., food, shelter, clothing). All these provisions further enable us to remain free from the power and practice of sin so we can live as God asks us to live and love as He loves. (Note: John 14:16-17,26; 16:13-14; Ephesians 4:11-16; James 1:5;

Matthew 6:33)

By

His power, God protects us from being tempted with any temptation stronger than our ability to resist. When we are tempted, God makes sure there is a way out so we are not only able to resist, but also able to get away from the temptation. Therefore, by the combined use of

God’s Satan-restraining power and our self-discipline, we can resist the devil in the name of Jesus or through quoting Scripture and find release from the pressure of any given temptation. (Note:

I Corinthians 10:13; I Peter 5:6-10)

By

His unmatchable provisions and eternal power, God frees us from the overwhelming influence and addictive power of sin. He enables us to do what we desperately need to do yet cannot do for ourselves. Truly, His power and provisions make the difference between godliness and the practice of sin, love and self-centeredness, and life and death.

Many Resist God's Efforts to Free Them

We know why atheists, agnostics, haters of God, and others such as these continue in their practice of sin. They want to sin. They enjoy their sin. They believe their chosen sins are not only reasonable, but wise and necessary for a full and happy life. They don’t want to be freed from the power and practice of sin. They don’t want to intentionally and eagerly make the good of others more important than the good of self. So they openly resist God’s efforts to bring them to repentance and conversion.

But what about those who consider themselves religious, believers in God, born-again Christians, or even good Christians? Why do so many of them behave as if self-centeredness is precious and vital to a happy life?

Why do so many of them remain addicted to the practice of sin (though often the less obvious or more religiously accepted sins such as greed)?

Why do so many of them treat others in ways they themselves do not want to be treated — especially those in their own home?

Why are they oblivious to their own sin when they so accurately point out the sin in others? Why, when they know enough about right behavior to advise others, do they not advise themselves? Why does it seem

God’s sin-freeing, life-changing power is ineffective in their lives?

Is

God impotent? Is God incapable of conquering the depravity of our humanity? Could it be that Satan and the other forces of evil are more powerful than God? Has God claimed to be something He isn’t?

Has He made promises He cannot keep? Is He lazy? Negligent?

Unconcerned? Preoccupied? A dismal failure?

For those of us who claim to be born-again Christians, the problem is not

God. He is everything He claims to be. His power is sufficient, and His provisions are abundant. He is able and He is eager to free us from the power, the practice, and the penalty of sin. Truly, He is not the problem. We are.

We are at fault for continuing to do what we know is wrong. We are at fault for doing to others what we do not want others to do to us. We are at fault because we want to enjoy the benefits of

Christianity and the benefits of the ungodly world. We are at fault because we want the best of God and the best of sin. We are at fault because we want to be freed from the penalty and possibly the power of sin, but not from the practice of our most useful sins. We want God to love us enough to free us from the fires of hell while disliking our neighbors enough to overlook our continued participation in a few sins that make their lives unhappy, unpleasant, and even miserable. We want to do what we know is right, but we also want to do a few of those life-enhancing, happiness-ensuring, self-interest-serving things we know are wrong. The truth is, we want to worship two contradictory, paradoxical adversaries — God Jehovah and self-interest. Therefore, if we are born-again Christians, God is not at fault for our ongoing sinful condition, we are. Being unwilling to forsake the practice of our most treasured sins, we resist

God’s efforts to free us from the practice of sin.

But how do we resist God’s freeing work? What does it look like?

Consider the following five common ways Christians resist God in this matter.

The one factor affecting all resistance to God’s freeing work is distrust. Any distrust of God’s goodness — of His willingness and ability to adequately protect us or provide for us — leads to self-centered efforts to do for ourselves what we fear God won’t or can’t do for us. This is especially obvious in the way we treat people whose behavior directly affects us.

When we think God is not giving us adequate protection from those whose behavior unnecessarily hurts us, or when we think He is not promoting our interests in comparison to others, we take matters into our own hands and do what we believe is best for self. In other words, distrust of God becomes a powerful motive for self-centeredness. Therefore,

Christians who distrust God are as prone to use controlling anger, manipulative behavior, sarcasm, stubbornness, avoidance, withdrawal, returning unkindness for unkindness, public denigration of the wrong-doer, and revenge against people who mistreat them as are avowed non-Christians. And for this same reason, when we dig below the religious-coated surface, we find, too often, that relationships between Christian husbands and wives, parents and children, church members, and business partners are hardly better than those found in many non-Christian settings.

Without a doubt, distrust of God motivates us to deliberately resist

God’s efforts to deliver us from the practice of sin. And we resist God’s deliverance work wherever we think His participation and His ways fall short of meeting our perceived needs for happiness and security. By holding on to what we believe to be

“necessary sins,” we fill the gaps left by our mostly, but not completely, trustworthy God.

The second common way in which we resist God’s efforts to free us from the practice of sin is self-deception. We often lie to ourselves about ourselves so we can think better of ourselves than we ought.

Hiding from the ugly truth about ourselves allows us to continue in our sinful ways as if we are not sinful.

And what lies do we tell ourselves? We tell ourselves we are good

Christians. We reinforce this lie by closing our eyes to those areas where we deliberately live contrary to what we know God’s

Word says about how to live. We tell ourselves our good intentions are proof enough that we are doing what is right. We reinforce this lie by ignoring the hurtful and relationship-damaging effects on others of our presumed good intentions. We tell ourselves we should be the one who decides how our behavior affects others (thus making it easy to decide we are innocent). Yet we never challenge this lie with the fact that we demand the right to decide how other people’s behavior affects us. We tell ourselves we are doing

God’s will. We reinforce this lie by ignoring the fact that we do His will only when it allows us to maintain a comfortable level of self-rule. We speak often of the Christian, benevolent, kind, and generous things we do while ignoring, denying, justifying, or excusing the times when we shamelessly and repeatedly do what we know is wrong.

Our self-deception enables us to maintain an exaggerated sense of godliness which enables us to continue in the practice of our cherished sins with an almost indistinguishable sense of guilt.

There is another angle to this problem of self-deception. We like to tell ourselves that knowing (to grasp something with the mind and recognize it as true) is the same as believing (to place trust in something so as to order our choices and behavior according to what we believe). It is true that knowing and believing are intricately related. Believing is directly dependent on what we know, for it is impossible to place trust in someone or something we have no knowledge of. But knowing and believing are not one and the same. Knowing something to be true does not automatically result in placing trust in that truth so as to live accordingly. We may know all there is to know about God, but if what we know is not accompanied by trust, we will not live according to our knowledge.

Therefore, knowing what is right is not enough. To be enough, knowing must be accompanied by doing if it is to be an expression of our faith.

The third common way in which we resist God’s efforts to free us from the practice of sin is our unwillingness to accept responsibility for our choices and behavior. We are quick to take responsibility for those choices and behaviors which garner us approval. But too often, we are just as quick to disavow responsibility for those choices and behaviors which result in criticism and condemnation, such as our mistakes, failures, or obviously sinful acts.

We often deny personal responsibility by shifting the blame away from ourselves. We shift the blame by saying other people or the related circumstances drove us to do what we did. We claim that if certain people hadn’t done what they did, or certain circumstances had been different, we wouldn’t have done what we did.

Sometimes we even blame God, as if something He has or hasn’t done drove us to do the wrong we have done. In other words, by saying they drove us to do what we did, we shift responsibility for our choices and behavior to other people, circumstances, and sometimes even God. In shifting the blame, we free ourselves from having to take responsibility for what we have done.

Sometimes we deny the right of others to hold us responsible for our sinful choices and behavior by appealing to the

“everyone’s doing it” measurement of right and wrong. We use this measurement to imply two things. First, if many or most of the people are doing it, it must be okay. In other words, if the numbers are right, the deed must be right. Second, if it is wrong, we ought not be held responsible for what others are doing and getting away with. In other words, if they can get away with it, we ought to be able to get away with it too.

Shifting the blame for our wrong choices and behavior allows us to think we are good people, even good Christians, when we aren’t. Thinking of ourselves as good allows us to ignore known practices of sin from which we need to be freed. Therefore, we remain uncooperative with God’s efforts to free us from the practice of all sin.

The fourth common way in which we resist God’s efforts to free us from the practice of sin comes from a subtle twist on the truth.

Because it has the look of deep spirituality, it is far less obvious than the other forms of resistance. This subtle form of resistance comes from the “only God can change me” approach to

Christian living.

In one sense, only God can change us from heinous sinners to people of love. Yet without our cooperation, without us doing our part (i.e., fleeing youthful lusts, making no provision for the flesh, reckoning ourselves dead to sin, thinking on right things, resisting the devil, putting on the armor of God, walking by the Spirit), no transformation will take place. (Note: II Timothy 2:22; Romans 13:14;

Romans 6:11; Philippians 4:8; James 4:7; Ephesians 6:10-17; Galatians

5:16-17)

Those who twist this truth exaggerate God’s part in changing us. They decry any human effort in the process of growing in godliness as “the work of the flesh.” They believe it is unspiritual to do anything spiritual by any means that includes human effort. First of all, they believe that when God wants them to change in a particular area, He will give them a miraculous and irresistible revelation of truth. In other words, He will tell them exactly what He wants them to stop doing and what they are to start doing. Then, He will do what is necessary to change them. Therefore, they continue to practice known sin because it seems to them that God is doing nothing about it. And if God is doing nothing about a known sin in their life, that is His decision. What these folks do not see is how this approach leads them to deliberately resist many of

God’s efforts to free them from the practice of sin.

The fifth common way in which we resist God’s efforts to free us from the practice of sin is lack of preparation. Most Christians set aside little or no time to adequately prepare for the challenge of living godly in an ungodly world. We are too busy doing other things.

But the truth is, we choose not to make the time. We make time to adequately prepare for such things as school assignments, job assignments, speaking in front of a group, weekend dates, vacation trips, child care when we need to be away from the children, shopping with coupons, making major purchases, house and car repairs, special occasions (birthdays, weddings, anniversaries), and investments. When we adequately prepare for these kinds of things it proves we believe in the value of preparing, and it proves we know how to organize our time in order to adequately prepare.

Lack of preparation, or inadequate preparation, means we will continue in old, sinful habits even though we know the right thing to do. Habits take time to establish, and habits take time to kill. Without a prolonged, consistent effort (the fruit of daily preparation), we won’t break any established habits. Neither will we establish new, righteous habits to replace the old sinful habits. Lack of preparation, or inadequate preparation, means we will choose self-centeredness, and therefore sin, more often than if we had prepared. Lack of adequate preparation means unnecessarily hurting more people more often than if we prepared. Indeed, we are not loving others as we want them to love us when we fail to adequately prepare so as to bring a reasonably quick end to our sinful ways. Finally, to carelessly prolong the process of putting an end to known sin means we are intentionally prolonging our resistance to some of God’s efforts to free us from the practice of sin. Is it any wonder we continue to willingly, knowingly, and repeatedly sin while calling ourselves Christians?

It should be clear from these five ways of resisting God’s efforts to free us why His ways don’t seem to work very well.

His power and working are enough to do what needs to be done. We are the problem. Our resistance may not be obvious or well-planned. Yet whether pre-planned or unplanned, our resistance is willful, voluntary, intentional, and self-serving. Do not let anyone deceive you on this point.

Therefore, the continued practice of known sin is the direct result of a moral weakness (a deliberate choice to continue doing what we know is wrong). A moral weakness is the result of purposefully and voluntarily setting some goal, or giving way to some desire, or living according to some fear that we know, or should know, advances our interests at the expense of others. A moral weakness is the result of intentionally choosing selfishness over love. And, a moral weakness is motivated by unbelief or distrust of God.

Opposite the moral weakness is the natural weakness. A natural weakness, whether intellectual or physical, is the result of some handicap, deficiency, or inability that is beyond our control. A moral weakness is our fault. A natural weakness is an unfortunate imperfection.

If you are a Christian and are knowingly practicing sin, it is not the result of any natural weakness. Your problem is the result of a moral weakness. You know what is right in relation to your repeated sin.

There may even be times when you wish you could be free from that sin.

Yet at the same time, you are acting out one or more of the five common ways we resist God’s efforts to free us from the practice of sin. You cannot come to freedom while resisting the efforts of your

Redeemer.

If we want to be set free from the power and practice of sin we must fully cooperate with God’s efforts to free us. Partial (selective)

cooperation is not enough. If we intentionally pump life into self-will, be it ever so little, we will intentionally resist some of

God’s efforts to free us from the practice of sin. If we believe there is a sinful solution that is better than God’s solution to one of our pressing problems, we will intentionally resist

God’s efforts to free us from the practice of that sin. If we feel we must have, or even deserve, just one benefit or pleasure outside the boundaries of godliness, we will intentionally resist

God’s efforts to free us from the practice of that sin which gives us the benefit or pleasure we seek. It isn’t that we do not know what is right, it’s that we want to do what is wrong. This is a moral choice affirming a moral weakness.

God has given us everything necessary to live a godly life. We have the ability as children of the living God to make full and proper use of what God has done and will do to free us from sin — its power, its practice, and its penalty. When we do our part, we will come into that wondrous, God-provided, God-empowered, God-enabled freedom from the overpowering influence and enslaving attraction sin has in our life.

God Speaks to This Issue

“My dearest children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not continue in sin. However, if you sin, Jesus Christ, the righteous one will intercede on your behalf with the Father.” (Note: I John 2:1)

“What should our response be to God’s marvelous and incomprehensible grace? Should we continue in the practice of sin, as if sinning more will make God’s grace more obvious? Or should we feel free to sin, as if His grace makes it safe to sin by freeing us from sin’s penalty? What an unchristian thought! This kind of thinking is as much an enemy of love as infidelity is an enemy of marriage. How is it possible for Christ-ones, those who have been freed from the accumulative and addictive power of sin, to continue practicing sin? Have you not heard that all who are baptized into Jesus

Christ have been baptized into His death — that is,

His death to sin? Therefore, all who have been baptized into Christ

Jesus have died to sin just as He has, so that just as He was raised from the dead by God’s supreme power, so we too are empowered by God to live a new and godly life.” (Note: Romans 6:1-4)

“Now all who belong to Christ Jesus have put to death the flesh with its irrational fears, selfish desires, foolish impulses, and fleshly passions.” (Note: Galatians 5:24)

“Therefore, put to death any past habits, desires, and inclinations that can lead you into sin (those things brought into your Christian life from your old sinful life): sexual immorality, impure thinking and adulterous fantasies, excessive passions, selfish desires, greed — which is a form of idol worship — manipulative anger, physical and verbal abuse, fits of rage, the desire to get even, slander, derogatory and disrespectful talk, and lying. This is only reasonable since you have repented of sin and been converted to a new life in Christ

Jesus — a life which is being progressively conformed to the very life of God Himself.” (Note: Colossians

3:5,8-10)

“No temptation or time of testing has come into your life that has not been experienced by others. You are not the only one to experience such difficulties. Others have remained faithful to

God’s ways when subjected to the same temptations and trials you are experiencing. This assures us that God can be trusted to never allow us to be tempted or tried beyond our ability to endure or resist.

And in addition, He ensures a mentally healthy and spiritually appropriate way out of each temptation so you can escape its efforts to ruin you.” (Note: I Corinthians 10:13)

“The foundation laid by God stands forever, and this is inscribed on its cornerstone: ‘The Lord has a personal relationship with those who are His,’ and, ‘Let everyone who says they are born-again Christians forsake and abstain from all self-centeredness and sin.’” (Note: II

Timothy 2:19)

“If we continue to willfully sin after having heard and believed in the truth of the Gospel, there is nothing more God can do to free us from the power, practice, and penalty of sin. What God has done through Jesus Christ is more than enough. There is nothing more that can be done. If we reject what God has done, whether openly or as a result of thoughtless choices and behavior, the only thing left is the certainty of judgment and the horror of a fire which will consume all who have set themselves against God and His glorious purposes for mankind.” (Note: Hebrews 10: 26-27)

“Therefore, as obedient children of the all-loving God, do not give in to your former fears, desires, impulses and passions which you preferred when you were self-centered and sinful. Rather, like the

Holy One who called you, pursue holiness yourself in a whole-life, life-long way.” (Note: I Peter 1:14-15)

In Summary

The contrast between what God says we Christians can be and what we are confirms how morally weak we are. True, we are fighting against the cumulative and addictive power of sin. We are fighting against the master tempter, Satan. We are fighting against the pressures of the world to conform us to its sinful ways. Yet far worse than that, we are fighting against ourselves — our own self-centeredness, our own distrust of God, our own self-deceit, our own irresponsibility, and our own laziness. We know the right thing to do. But sometimes, and repeatedly in some areas, we just do not want to do it. This is our fault, not God’s.

The problem is, we are selfish. In our selfishness, we are most vulnerable where our selfish interests oppose our desires to do what is right. The weakness of our nature added to the cumulative and addictive power of sin creates an enemy that is extraordinarily strong. Knowledge, and the motivating power of fear and hope, are not enough to overcome the power and practice of sin.

Self must die if victory is to come. God must become the supreme focus of our love and trust if victory is to come. The power and provision of

God for holy living must be drawn on and put to its intended use if victory is to come. God’s Word must be relied on as the final authority over all we think, feel, choose, say, and do if victory is to come. In other words, we must trust God implicitly and obey Him explicitly, willfully, and persistently if victory is to come. This is our part.

If you are struggling against specific sins, do not despair. If you want to live for God but find yourself burdened under the weight of failure and shame, there’s hope for you. If you feel trapped in some specific sin, all is not lost. Jesus came to save you from your sin. He is eager to save you from the power and practice of sin and from the weakness of your nature. The Apostle Paul points to this hope when he asks, “Who will set me free from the body of this death?” NOTICE, he did not say “WHAT will set me free...”, but “WHO.” He was looking to a person, not a character quality or a particular method to set him free.

Why? Because nothing other than God can set us free. And He sets us free by His power and provisions freely and liberally given to us through Jesus Christ, our Lord. (Note: Romans 7:24)

Only by the efficient and all-sufficient power of God can we subdue our sinful passions and impulses. Only by the wisdom of God can we overcome our irrational fears. Only in the love of God can we find true acceptance and security. Only in God can we become new creatures, with the old “selfish” life removed and the new

“love” life put in its place.

Let

Him free you so you can become all that He created you to be. He will not change you against your will, but He will enable you to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ as you do your part.

No

Other Foundation
Book 2
Needful Truths for

Children of Light

Chapter Five
Defining the Sanctifying Process

The

Contents Of This Chapter

- Defining the

Sanctifying Process

- Sanctification — a Basic Understanding

- Sanctification —

What It Isn't and Doesn't Do

- Sanctification —

God’s Path to Godliness

1. Not Against Our

Will

2. Not an Either/or

Situation

3. Knowledge Builds on Knowledge

4. No Quick Fixes for

Long-time Problems

5. No End to

Temptation in this Life

- In Summary

Defining the Sanctifying Process

Though born sinners, we don’t always sin. Though predisposed to self-centeredness, we aren’t always selfish. There are times when we love others as we want to be loved. There are times when we sacrifice our interests to please or serve another. There are times when we do what is right even though it means standing alone or being heckled. However, spasmodic or intermittent goodness is neither noteworthy nor commendable. Yet everyone does it, including the worst of sinners.

A more difficult accomplishment is goodness in several specific areas so as to consistently do what is right in those areas (i.e., marital fidelity, responsible work ethic, keeping one’s word, honesty about oneself, being racially unbiased, being even-tempered, being considerate of others, never using profanity, never gossiping). Yet as difficult as this is, there are those who practice this level of goodness.

However, whether Christian or non-Christian, those who practice this level of goodness are little better than those who occasionally do what is right. And why is this the case? Because they are driven more by the fear of getting into trouble and the desire for approval and acceptance than by a loving concern for the good of everyone affected in some way by their choices and behavior. In other words, they are more concerned about their own interests than the interests of others. The truth of this is evidenced in two primary ways. First, they predominantly decide what to do on a “benefit vs. cost to self” basis. If the benefits outweigh the costs, they will most likely do it – be it something they know is right or something they know is wrong. Second, they follow their feelings more than God’s Word. The sins they abhor (i.e., rape, adultery, cursing, and for the sensitive – anger) they tenaciously avoid. The sins they adore (i.e., software piracy, cheating on taxes, workaholism to the neglect of the family, controlling others to their hurt and the hurt of the relationship, nagging) they avidly practice. In other words, they do what is right for the same reason they do what is wrong - it seems to serve their own interests. Therefore, though this level of goodness is harder to achieve than sporadic goodness, it is not much better.

Way out ahead of these two accomplishments is what seems to most of us as the impossible dream – consistently doing what we know is right in every area of life where we know the right thing to do, for the rest of our lives. This is whole-life, life-long goodness.

Consistent goodness over a sustained period of time in every area where we know what is right, is difficult. First, there is the challenge of being honest about ourselves so that we willingly face the truth, in very specific ways, about the sin still needing to be put out of our life. Next, there is the battle to overcome our pride and be humble – humble enough to listen to criticism, admit our sin, make things right with those we’ve sinned against, and pursue change. Third, there is the agony of staggering and struggling until old habits and thought patterns are crushed and we have put new habits and thought patterns in their place. Then, there is the discouragement of two steps forward and three steps backward, or three steps forward and one step backward until our forward motion is so consistent that the slight backward step on rare occasions is hardly noticed. Fifth, there is the exhausting tug-of-war between wanting to do what is right and being sorely tempted to do what is wrong. In addition, there is the hard work of disciplining ourselves to get up each day and prepare so that we go into our day ready to do battle against temptation, wrong thinking, and the desire to give up – for whatever reason.

Finally, after traveling this path for a while, the realization begins to creep into our minds that the aforementioned difficulties aren’t likely to end in this life. In fact, growth in righteousness becomes a light that exposes more darkness which requires staying on this path longer if change is to come in these newly exposed areas. Such are the things which make the pursuit of whole-life, life-long godliness a lot more difficult than most of us would have ever imagined at the start of this path.

So, how do people do it? What makes the difference between occasional or selective goodness and whole-life, life-long godliness? To this question there is only one answer, and the answer is: God.

To pursue whole-life, life-long godliness we must have God’s help in all its varied forms. We must place ourselves in His hands and depend on Him to fulfill His intentions for us. And what are

God’s intentions for us? He intends for us to be freed from the binding chains and influential power of sin. He intends for us to be fully equipped and empowered (with His provisions and power) so we can become all that He saved us to be. He intends for us to be separated from everything that is selfish and sinful, and devoted to everything that is loving and holy. He intends for us to come into His family as sons and daughters who are eager to share a relationship of mutual communion and companionship with Him. He intends for us to become spiritually mature and genuinely useful so He can work through us in accomplishing His purposes in our world. And without a doubt, He intends for us to be found blameless at the second coming of our Lord

Jesus Christ. In other words, He intends for us to be sanctified, and

He intends to do this for us Himself. (Note: Titus 2:11-14, I

Thessalonians 5:23-24)

Sanctification — a Basic

Understanding

This word “sanctify” is made up of a root word which is found in several other words used throughout the Old and New Testament.

These words are:

Holy
Hallow
Consecrate
Sanctify
Holiness
Hallowed
Saint
Sanctification

The original meaning of the word sanctify speaks of the act of setting something or someone apart from its/his normal use in order that it/he might belong to only one person and be for that person’s exclusive use. The

Bible’s use of the word sanctify follows this theme. God sanctifies us by setting us apart from a life of self-centeredness and sin, reconciling us to Himself, and instructing us in the ways of holiness and love to the extent that we voluntarily and cheerfully give ourselves to doing His will.

In other words, God saves us from sin and then works with and in us

– taking us through a process of change until we become the loving and wise being He first created us and then saved us to be.

Through this process we are consecrated to God, that is, set apart for fellowship with Him and use by Him. Through this process we become deeply involved in a relationship of intimate communion and companionship with our loving Father. Through this process, supreme love of God and love for others becomes our ruling principle and driving motive. Through this process, lasting relationships built on mutual love and trust become a highly valued treasure. Through this process we are prepared and empowered for useful service to God so He can fulfill His purposes in our world through us.

Therefore, sanctification is God’s process of taking us from a life of self-centeredness to a life of love, while we yet live on this earth. It is a process which prepares us for an eternity of relationships built on mutual love and trust with God and all who love as He loves. And it is a progressive process limited only by time, energy, and our willingness to cooperate with God.

Sanctification — What It

Isn't and Doesn't Do

Sanctification is not synonymous with biblical or theological knowledge. Yet many church attenders think that if they can properly define sanctification, it is proof they are being sanctified. They assume that if they can intelligently discuss holiness, they must be well on the way to being holy. In other words, they consider themselves good Christians because they have an intellectual or scholarly grasp of Bible knowledge and theology. Such thinking is not only off the mark, it is deliberately self-serving.

We don’t exonerate criminal activity committed by criminals who can intelligently discuss the definitions and nuances of right and wrong related to their criminal activity. We don’t find happiness in a friend’s or spouse’s mistreatment of us just because they have a good grasp of how they ought to treat us. In fact we would say that the knowledgeable criminal, friend, or spouse is doubly wrong in that they did wrong knowing what was right. And there is more.

Because they know what is right, we feel justified in judging them more harshly than we would judge someone who did wrong ignorantly.

Yet in Christianity, many accept this axiom (right knowledge is as good as right behavior) as if it were an eternal truth. And those who believe this are easily identified. They are well versed on such issues as the sovereignty of God, the free will of man, eternal security, salvation by grace, the return of Christ, and the filling or gifts of the Holy Spirit. Yet at the same time, they hardly discuss and rarely consider their own involvement in such issues as greed, hoarding, excessive consumerism, the abuse of power in the home or on the job, mediocre parenting, workaholism, unforgiveness, stirring up strife in the Church, gossip, bigotry, unjust or dishonest business practices, and small indiscretions. Though they know the deeper biblical and theological truths, those closest to them (spouse, children, extended family members, co-workers) don’t see much of the Christ-like life.

This is not what God intends, nor is it what He condones. The purpose of sanctification is to change us, not inform us. God uses knowledge as part of the process, but His goal is to conform us to the likeness of

Jesus.

Sanctification does not change our physical or mental make-up. Though we will receive glorified bodies when we pass from this world into

God’s heavenly kingdom, we have the mind and body we were born with until then. Thankfully, the mind and body God gave us at birth comes equipped with everything necessary to love Him above all others, and to love others as ourselves. Therefore, God redeems our mind and body so they can be sanctified. Through the sanctification process, He works on our thoughts so we think on good things instead of self-centered and vile things. He works on our choices so we stop using our bodies and our time for selfish and senseless things, and start using them for doing good. He brings us to the place where we use our minds and bodies to live as He says and to serve Him as He wills.

Therefore, the process of sanctification brings about a dramatic change in the use but not the make-up of our mind and body.

Sanctification does not eliminate our personality or natural character traits. Instead, God wants to redeem them and purify them so that in every way we can grow to Christian maturity and become all that He saved us to be. Generally speaking, shy people find it difficult to talk to strangers or anyone else who makes them feel uncomfortable or insecure. If a shy person submits to God’s sanctifying process,

God will help him overcome his fears and give him enough boldness to get involved with people who need to be evangelized, discipled, confronted, counseled, or consoled. Aggressive people tend to take charge and get things done, but they can be insensitive and controlling in their treatment of others. If an aggressive person submits to

God’s sanctifying process, God will teach him the importance of inviting others to do something rather than forcing them, and how to be sensitive toward others. People who are easygoing are fun to be with, but they tend to be lax in fulfilling commitments and careless in the use of other people’s possessions. If an easygoing person submits to God’s sanctifying process, God will expose his careless approach and teach him the way of love – love which keeps its word and protects the interests of others. In other words, God wants to sanctify our personality and character traits, not eliminate them. As we submit to and cooperate with His sanctifying process, our personality and natural character traits are transformed so that in this way, too, we are conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ.

Sanctification does not eliminate our natural desires and feelings. God created us with an appetite for food, the desire to feel loved and secure, and a concern for our own well-being. He created us with the ability to feel joy, happiness, excitement, fulfillment, and pleasure, as well as sadness, disappointment, anger, fear, and pain. These natural desires and feelings have no moral character in themselves.

They are neither good nor bad. Their purpose is to enhance our lives.

Consider this. Our appetite for food seeks food for the sake of satisfying our hunger. However, this appetite has nothing to do with seeking food for the pleasure of eating or to dull the pain of rejection and loneliness. Our appetite for food is just that, an appetite. It is not responsible for controlling our eating habits. Our intellect has that responsibility.  Therefore, God wants to sanctify our mind, our thoughts, our beliefs, our attitudes, and our motives. Then, our sanctified intellect can rightly deal with our appetite so that we eat according to some sane sense of nutritional need, not self-gratification.

Feelings like pleasure and pain, satisfaction and disappointment, add a dimension to the experiences of life that captivates our attention and gets us personally involved in whomever or whatever is causing the feelings. Yet feelings themselves do not understand that sadness over the loss of a special relationship or loved one is normal while hatred and depression are destructive.  Feelings know nothing about the harmful effects of illegal drugs, sex outside the marriage relationship, or the accumulation and selfish squandering of wealth.

Feelings have no idea that certain pleasure-producing activities can become obsessions which replace God as the most important thing in our lives. Our intellect is responsible for such things. Therefore, God wants to sanctify our mind, our thoughts, our beliefs, our attitudes, and our motives. Then, we can experience our full range of feelings without going outside the boundaries of love – love which promotes and protects the good of everyone.

Anger and fear warn us that something is wrong, yet they have no ability to select a response. Our intellect is responsible for selecting responses to the things we fear or feel angry over. If we select responses that are excessive, aggressive, selfishly protective, and irrational, it is not the fault of our feelings. We, through the use of our intellect, have made the decision. Therefore, God wants to sanctify our mind, our thoughts, our beliefs, our attitudes, and our motives. Then our response to anger or fear won’t compromise the good of anyone who is in any way affected by our response.

God created us with natural desires and feelings for our benefit. When we submit to His sanctifying work, God does not require us to condemn or forsake the desires and feelings He gave us. What He asks us to do is cooperate with His sanctifying process so that with our renewed mind we will use our natural desires and feelings for the good of everyone affected in any way by our choices and behavior – God, others, and ourselves.

Sanctification does not eliminate our natural affections. Natural affections are those special feelings of comfort, closeness, appreciation, or esteem we have for certain people. It is natural that some people are more pleasing to us than others. We naturally feel a closeness to our family and friends which we do not feel with many of our neighbors or co-workers. We naturally feel endeared to those who treat us in respectful, kind, sensitive, and caring ways. We appreciate and even esteem those who live according to the values we embrace. In contrast, we feel repulsed by or estranged from those who mistreat us or generally behave in gross and immoral ways. Such feelings are the result of our natural affections.

Sanctification does not eliminate our natural irritations. It is natural to feel upset, and even angry, when we see a husband abusing his wife or a mother neglecting her children. We naturally feel disturbed when children carelessly destroy property or ridicule a disabled child. It is natural to feel angry when governments are unjust, or those in power force those under them to endure senseless suffering because of their greed. We naturally feel angry when the criminal’s rights take priority over the rights of the victim.

These are examples of normal irritations which God is not asking us to eliminate. But He does want to purify the way we respond to our natural affections and irritations so we do not allow them, in any way, to hinder us from loving others just as we wish to be loved.

Sanctification does not make God the constant and direct object of our thoughts and affection. There are moments when we will give direct attention to God as we read the Bible, pray, meditate upon some aspect of God’s love or portion of His Word, listen to a sermon, or sing and worship with others who have gathered to praise the Lord. However, there are other moments when our attention is directed toward the activity at hand. When we are driving in busy traffic or participating in an intense discussion, we must focus our attention on what we are doing if we are to do it well. This is not just acceptable, it is necessary. The proof we are being sanctified is not in constantly thinking about God, but in making consistent, obvious progress in living for Him. To drive with respect for other drivers, to listen carefully and respond in love when someone is criticizing us, to provide for our family, to be honest in our work, to keep our word, to share what we have with those in need, to stand for what is right and just in the face of evil or injustice, to speak about faith in God to the unbeliever, to protect the weak, to be intimately involved in the building of God’s kingdom here and around the world, to seek the well-being of all mankind – these are the things which prove God is the supreme object of our thoughts and affection. God wants to so fully sanctify us that when others observe our lives it looks to them as if

He is the constant and direct object of our thoughts and affection.

Sanctification does not mean we are free from errors in judgment. The sanctifying process brings about amazing changes in our thought life, choices, and behavior, but it does not mean we become infallible. Our level of understanding and application of truth is limited by what we know, our level of maturity, experience, and wisdom. The more we grow in knowledge and experience, both in the spiritual and natural realm, the more of God’s truth we can apply to the varied circumstances of life. There are many judgments and decisions to be made each day.

Improved decision making comes with increased knowledge, added experience, and greater wisdom. As we trust God to continue working in us, as we search and study the Bible, as we reflect on our experiences to see how we can improve, and as we persist in asking for wisdom, we will improve the quality of our judgments and decisions. God will sanctify us as we submit to His sanctifying process, judgment errors and all.

Sanctification does not remove our ability or our freedom to sin. There is nothing about the process of sanctification which changes us in such a way as to make it impossible for us to sin. As long as we have the intellect and freedom of will God created us with, we can choose self-centeredness over love, sin over righteousness, and our way over

God’s way. This does not mean we should tolerate known sin, or take failure lightly. Neither does it mean we should see ourselves as total failures if we foolishly choose to give in to temptation and sin.

Keep everything in perspective. The goal of sanctification concerning the issue of sin is threefold. First, to develop within us a hatred of sin and the resolute determination never to sin again. Second, to give us the motive and means to do what we know is right. Third, to teach us how to get back on track when we go astray (i.e., to confess our sin, make things right with those we have wronged, and get back on the path of doing what we know is right).

Sanctification —

God’s Path to Godliness

Sanctification is God’s way of conforming us in thought, motive, word, and deed to the image or likeness of His son, Jesus. It is the only path to godliness. Other paths may lead to improvements in specific areas, but only sanctification has the means and power to transform us whole-life, life-long. With sanctification being the only path to Christ-likeness,

God expects every one of His children to follow it to the end. In fact, sanctification is so vital to God’s plan for securing the good of all that should we choose to forsake this path and return to the willful and continued practice of our old sinful ways, we put our soul’s salvation in jeopardy. (Note: Ezekiel 18:24-32, 33:10-20 with special consideration for 33:13; Matthew 7:17-23; Luke 8:9-18;

Romans 8:12-14; Hebrews 2:1-4, 3:12-4:2, 6:4-8, 10:23-31, 12:14-25;

James 1:26-27, I John 2:3-6, 3:1-10, 4:7-8)

With sanctification being the only path to godliness, and with it being so vital to God’s plan for securing the good of everyone everywhere, why is it a path or process and not an instantaneous act?

What keeps God from conforming us to the image of Jesus at the moment we repent and put our faith in Him? It seems a most practical solution to the sin problem. So why not?

In this life we may never know the full answer to this question. But there are clues surrounding this process that shed some light as to why it is a process requiring time, compliance, and persistence on our part. The following five clues help us understand why God chose to make sanctification a process and not an instantaneous act.

1. | God does not change us against our will.
2. | Sanctification is not an “either/or” situation.

3.

Knowledge builds on knowledge. As we grow in the knowledge of God and His

Word, and as we gain experience in applying that knowledge, we are able to comprehend more so we can learn more and apply more.

4.

There is often more than one habit to be broken and replaced and more than one fear to be dealt with before a particular sin is forsaken.

5. | Sanctification does not prevent temptation while we remain in this world.

Item 1: Not Against our Will

Sanctification brings change – profound, penetrating, life-altering change. This life-affecting process draws us into a submissive, trustful, loving, and mutually intimate relationship of communion and companionship with

God. It teaches us to deny the sinful side of self-interest so that we replace self-centeredness with heart-felt, action-oriented love which seeks the good of everyone affected by everything we do. It trains us to serve God, first and foremost, so that we focus on what we can do for Him rather than on what He we want Him to do for us. It teaches us to share with those less fortunate rather than squander our resources on the pursuit of luxury, personal happiness, and financial security.

It trains us to use what power we have to defend the weak and empower the powerless. It teaches us to build relationships of mutual love and trust rather than power-bases of control or fortresses of self-protection. It motivates us to aggressively seek out non-Christians for the purpose of inviting them to repent, to be reconciled to God, and to live for God. It prepares us to go into the world around us and be the saltiest salt and the brightest light we can be for the glory of God and the advancement of His purposes. It implores us to live up to what we know is right, right now.

Living up to what we know is right is the most important thing we can do in cooperating with God’s work of sanctification. But the motive for living up to what we know is of equal importance to the doing. To see why our motive is of equal importance to our actions, consider this: There are two primary motives for doing what we know is right: obligation and conviction.

SUBMISSIVE – I do His will as if I were His slave.

TRUSTFUL – I trust Him completely to be my provider and protector as if I were His young child.

LOVING – I love Him above all others and do those things which endears Him to me as if I were His bride.

MUTUALLY INTIMATE – Our relationship is two-ways. We love each other. We trust each other. We do almost everything together. We always seek the good of the other. We serve each other. We talk a lot.

In relation to doing what we know is right, the motive of obligation is based on fear and hope. This means that the motive of obligation finds its power to motivate through an appeal to our fear of punishment and/or hope of reward. The weakness of this motive, then, is that it uses self-interest (selfishness) to promote unselfish, and often self-sacrificial behavior. This is like making a child overcome his fear of the dark by threatening or bribing him to sleep in a room with the light off and the door closed. He may do what you want, but only because you’ve made the cost of disobedience or the reward of obedience greater than his fear of the dark. In other words, obligation compels us to do what we do not yet believe in, or agree with, or would choose to do if we could do what we wanted to do. The problem with this is twofold. First, no matter how noble obligation-driven-obedience begins, in time it breeds grudging obedience and resentment toward the one requiring obedience. Second, remove the fear of punishment or hope of reward and obedience quickly returns to disobedience. Therefore, instead of providing the sustaining motivation to remain faithful to the process of sanctification, obligation ultimately turns us against

God and feeds our desire to return to doing as we pleased.

In relation to doing what we know is right, the motive of conviction is love based. This means that conviction finds its power to motivate through our concern for the good of others, especially those directly affected by our choices and behavior. The strength of this motive, then, is that it uses community-interest (selflessness) to promote unselfish, and often self-sacrificial behavior. In other words, conviction inspires us to do what we cheerfully and of our own free-will want to do, agree with, and believe in as the only sane and sensible way to live. The advantage of this is that it breeds eager obedience while feeding our adoration and respect for the one entreating us to do what is right. Therefore, conviction provides internal, intentional, tenacious, voluntary, whole-life faithfulness to the process of sanctification, and a growing, maturing endearment for the One sanctifying us.

There is no denying that obligation-driven-obedience produces quicker results than conviction-driven-obedience. But if we are forced into the sanctifying process through threat of punishment or promise of reward, our cooperation can never be whole-hearted, voluntary, or cheerful. It can never produce God’s intended results. Forced obedience is never the result of a changed mind about right and wrong, about God, and about self. It is the result of a self-serving response to the fear of punishment or the hope of reward.

Without a changed mind, without the conviction that sanctification is the only sane and sensible choice, without voluntarily submitting to

God’s process of sanctification, we will never become any more godly than our self-centeredness will allow. Therefore, God will not, and does not, force us into being sanctified.

If we are to be sanctified, we must be willing to be sanctified.  We must voluntarily submit to God and cooperate with

His efforts to sanctify us. We must, of our own free will, take responsibility for our part, and do our part until our dying day. We must, of our own volition, do what we know is right. We must willingly acknowledge and deal honestly with the selfishness and sin that are in our life. We must choose to put self-centeredness to death. We must, of our own accord, give up anything that gets in the way or slows the process of becoming all God has saved us to be. We must intentionally die to any passion or appetite, any concern or aspiration, any amusement or hobby whose craving for gratification distracts us from our commitment to be conformed to the image of Jesus. We must deliberately search for or ask to be shown the fears which drag us into sinful choices and behavior. We must willfully cast aside every idol so we can love and trust God above anyone and anything else. Truly, we must be willing for God to wholly sanctify us in whatever way and by whatever means He deems best if we are to be sanctified at all.

A word of caution is important here. Be careful not to confuse wishing with willing. They are not the same. Wishing is a form of wanting which places the burden for receiving on the giver. You can forever wish to be sanctified, yet do nothing to make your wish come true, because you are waiting for someone else to make it come true. Wishing lacks the personal commitment to make the personal choices necessary for the wish to turn into reality. Many wish to be sanctified, but they are waiting for God to magically change them, or for God to motivate them, or for the right time, or for the right circumstances. And while they are wishfully waiting, they involve themselves in things that distract them from the sanctifying process.

For them, wishing is hoping they can be changed into Christ-likeness without taking responsibility for their sinful desires and practices, and without making the hard choice do to die to self.

In contrast to wishing, willing is wanting verified by choices and actions which are intended to produce the desired result. Those who are willing to submit to God’s process of sanctification place the burden of sanctification on God and themselves. They know sanctification is not a one-party, one-sided process. They know that without God doing His part there is no hope of progress in the process of sanctification. But they also know that they must do their part if they are to be sanctified.

Now, think carefully about this last point. There is no such thing as being willing to be partially sanctified. Being willing to kill off part of self and forsake most sin is not a step in the right direction. The purpose of sanctification is to change us from being self-centered to having a loving concern for the well-being of everyone (including God) affected in any way by our choices and behavior. Partial improvement, be it one percent or ninety-nine percent, defeats sanctification’s purpose by failing to kill self-centeredness. For this reason, wanting partial sanctification is wholly worthless. It says we do not want to completely deny self because we are still convinced there are times when we need our self-centered ways. Under this condition we cannot be sanctified, we can only become as good as our self-centeredness will allow.

Do not let anyone deceive you about this. The sanctifying process requires your voluntarily active, intentional, whole-life, life-long participation to accomplish its purpose.

Therefore, if you do not voluntarily choose to cooperate with God, wholeheartedly submit to His sanctifying process, and do your part, you will not be sanctified.

Item 2: Not an Either/or Situation

The sanctifying process is not an ‘either/or’ situation. It is not a question of, “Are we sanctified, or aren't we?” It is not a matter of being perfect or imperfect, sinless or sinful. It is a matter of personal integrity – of being honest with ourselves about how sinful we still are and how much sanctifying work is yet to be done. It is a matter of hungering and thirsting after Christ-likeness - of wanting nothing less than whole-life, life-long godliness. It is a matter of wanting to love God supremely and others as our self, and then pressing God to work with us until it becomes a reality. It is a matter of whole-heartedly cooperating with God’s sanctifying process – of persistently doing our part to pursue a godly life, day-by-day, the rest of our life. It is a matter of living up to what we know, and of following where we know God is leading. It is a matter of taking full responsibility for our wrongdoing when we sin, making things right with whomever we have sinned against, and returning to doing what we know is right. These are the things that matter. And, as we do these things, along with making full use of God’s promises and provisions, and preparing each day for the challenges of that day, we will steadily become as godly as is humanly possible.

Therefore, the issue is not whether we have attained sinless perfection or still manifest sinful behavior. The issue is whether we have earnestly gotten involved in God’s sanctifying process and are making progress toward becoming as sinlessly perfect as any human can be. Because of our humanity, perfection may not be possible in this world. But because of God’s power and methods for fulfilling His intentions to sanctify us, steady and obvious progress toward perfection is a reasonable expectation.

The point of all this is that sanctification is a process.  It is a process which takes time and effort on both God’s part and ours to bring it to completion. There is nothing instantaneous about becoming all God saved us to be, or about being conformed to the likeness of Christ in every single area of life, any more than growing from childhood to adulthood is instantaneous. Therefore, it is not a matter of being sinlessly perfect today, but of making today count in becoming more like Christ. This is why sanctification is not an either/or situation.

Item 3: Knowledge Builds on Knowledge

The more we learn, the more we are able to learn. What we know enables us to learn what we do not know. We cannot learn something previously unknown unless we know something which connects us to that unknown. In other words, we cannot learn how to add and subtract, or divide and multiply, until we have learned about numbers and the value each number represents. We cannot understand advanced math until we have learned basic math. In the same way, before we can understand and apply the deeper, more advanced truths about God and His Word, we must understand and apply the basic, foundational truths. This should not surprise anyone since it is the way we learn everything.

Therefore, if we are to grow to maturity as Christians, it will require learning the basics before we can learn the deeper truths. It will require beginning at the beginning and working from there to the more advanced lessons. There is no shortcut to the deeper truths. If we ask

God to completely and immediately change us, we may be expressing a sincere desire, but we are asking for something that goes against the way He created us. This fact should not discourage us, for certainly our all-wise and loving God knows what is best. We can, therefore, rejoice that He is doing something good in making sanctification a process. And, we are doing all God asks of us when we are living according to what we know – be that one truth or hundreds of truths.

Item 4: No Quick Fixes for Long-time Problems

Our beliefs, fears, desires, passions, and impulses are hothouses overgrown with seeds of self-centeredness. From the day of our birth, these seeds are nurtured by Satan, the world (especially our social circles and the media), and our natural bent toward selfishness. Satan’s goal is to nurture these seeds into a bumper crop of faulty beliefs, bad habits, irrational fears, self-deceptions, and self-sabotaging choices

– fertilized and watered by distrust of God. And as is undeniably obvious, He achieves his goal in every one of us.

During childhood, our primary focus is on self. We pursue, most often, those things which are self-serving, self-gratifying, and self-protective. Because of this, we get entangled in many faulty beliefs, selfish desires, foolish passions, thoughtless impulses, and irrational fears. We then develop ways (which through repetitive use become habits) of dealing with life according to our perception of people and circumstances. Through repetitive use, these habits became so familiar we no longer have to think about them - we just live according to them.

Therefore, by the time we are eighteen, even the nicest among us have harvested a bumper crop of sin-promoting beliefs, self-serving habits, irrational fears, and foolish choices. We have invested heavily in self-centeredness, believing it ensures the greatest amount of personal happiness and security. And too often, we have done what we’ve known to be wrong because we’ve admired sin’s utilitarian, fast-acting, self-gratifying, self-protecting solutions when looking for acceptance and love, pursuing pleasure, striving to control people and circumstances, seeking financial security, or dealing with difficult situations.

However, as we grow into adulthood, we gain the ability to examine our methods of survival. As adults, we can determine which beliefs, habits, and fears are fit for use as a loving adult, and which ones need to be discarded. If we do not examine the survival methods we developed as children, and discard the ones based on selfishness, we will continue to use them as adults. We may dress them up so they do not look so obviously selfish, but we will depend on them just as much as when we were children.

Because we are intricate beings with many interlocking twists and turns in our personalities, no single habit or fear stands alone. Each one is interrelated with other beliefs and fears. If we are to change one habit or fear, we will have to deal with the others that are linked to the one we are seeking to change.

Consider anger.  Sinful anger (inappropriately expressed anger), is directly related to control. Control is based on the belief that we cannot be happy or secure, or that something is significantly wrong, if people and circumstances do not act according to our expectations.

Believing it is our right to be happy and secure, and that it is our obligation to require others to do things our way (because we think our way is right, or the only way), we proceed to control and manipulate people and circumstances in keeping with our beliefs. When others do not cooperate with us in satisfying our wants and needs, we believe it becomes justifiable to make them cooperate. Too often, then, we make them cooperate through the use of anger – making uncooperative people do what we want and keeping unkind people from doing what we don’t want. Experience teaches us that if we get angry enough, most things go our way. Getting our way enough reinforces our belief that anger is an effective method of control.

When we repent and place our faith in God, the Holy Spirit and

God’s Word convict us concerning our selfish use of anger. As we cooperate with God in dealing with our anger, we must also deal with the related beliefs and feelings which drive us to pursue happiness and security in self-centered ways (at the expense of others and to the detriment of loving relationships). Therefore, it is not just anger and control of others that has to be dealt with. We must also deal with our beliefs about personal rights, happiness, security, and arrogance (my way is the right way, best way, only way) – just some of the driving forces behind our manipulative anger.

Dealing with anger in this wholistic way requires time. We must first see that we selfishly use anger to get our way. Then we must see that the driving force behind our anger is insecurity, or the desire for personal happiness, or arrogance. Next, we must look into God’s

Word and discover what He says about security, happiness, and humility, where He says it is found, and how to gain it within the boundaries of love. After coming to these truths, we then need to work these truths into our life so we will look for security and happiness in the right places and in the right ways. This is not easy. In fact, it is hard, repetitive work.

Soon after becoming a Christian, Jan saw how she used anger to control people and circumstances in an effort to get her way. At first, she balked at having to give up familiar methods for untried ways

(God’s) of dealing with people and circumstances. She said

God’s ways made her feel defenseless, and at the mercy of others

– a feeling she wanted nothing to do with because she hated even the hint of vulnerability. But once she saw how her anger made those around her feel unloved, unimportant, used, and abused, and how it destroyed her chances of having meaningful, intimate, shared relationships with those closest to her, she was ready to make the change. That is when she hit the brick wall.

Jan had made the godly choice, but now she had to break her long-established habit of using anger to get her way. Instead of trusting her ability to manipulate and control others, she now had to use God’s methods. She had to trust Him to work things out for the good of everyone involved – in His time, not hers. To begin doing this, she spent time at the beginning of each day preparing to do the new thing - God’s thing - until it was firmly planted in her mind as the only way. When tempted, she would review why selfish anger was sinful and worthless, and why God’s way was best. She would then resist the temptation, redirect her thinking so as to think

God’s way, and proceed to do what she knew was right. If she failed to do what was right, she would confess her sin, make the wrongs right with whomever she hurt, and get back on the path of doing things

God’s way. Then, at the end of each day, she would thank God for

His direction and help in living according to what she knew.

Change did not come naturally or easily for Jan. In fact, if anything came naturally and easily it was her old use of anger to control the people closest to her. She was in a battle, a fight for her life. But after about five months, God’s loving way began to become a habit, the natural thing, something she could do without all the preparation and careful thought. Because she stayed in the battle, drawing on God’s power and using His resources to gain victory over temptation, she had made significant progress. Now, a solid victory was in sight. What began as a difficult struggle was now much easier. Praise the Lord!

God can do anything. He is all powerful. He can completely change us in an instant. But that is not His way. He has chosen to make life an experience of growth, be it our physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual life. The death of self begins as a once-for-all decision, but it requires a process and time to be worked out. There are no quick fixes for long-time, self-centered beliefs, irrational fears, and sinful habits.

Item 5: No End to Temptation in this Life

Sanctification does not mean the end of temptation. If you make the decision to die to sin, be it in a general or specific sense, you can be sure Satan and the world will make every possible effort to win you back. If they cannot win you back to their way of life, they will make every effort to derail you from God’s path of love. Even Jesus was tempted during his days on earth. We should expect no less.

If we examine the temptations of Jesus, we discover that the more broadly our faith is applied and the more spiritually mature we become, the stronger the temptation to sin. This is the case because the strength of temptation must be equal to the strength of our faith in

God if it is to have any attraction at all. Those who are the most mature in their Christian life experience the strongest temptations.

Therefore, we must remain active in God’s sanctifying process, depending on God and all He has provided, in order to keep free from the influence and practice of known sin the rest of our days on earth.

(Note: Luke 4:1-13)

In Summary

Sanctification is the process by which we, through faith in God, are separated from self-centeredness, the world, and sin. It is the process by which we are consecrated to God – set apart for fellowship with Him and fitted for service to Him. It is the process by which love is made both the ruling principle over and motive behind every thought, word, and deed. It is the process through which we mature in serving God by seeking the good of everyone affected by our choices and behavior. It is a process that begins the day we put true faith in God, repent of sin, and call upon Him for salvation from the power and practice of sin. It is a process that lasts until we become perfectly holy like He is holy.

Sanctification is a process that takes time and effort. The choice to repent, completely trust in God and His Word, and pursue holiness, is a moment-in-time, once-for-all choice. It cannot be improved on, only worked out. In other words, making the choice to be godly takes place in a moment of time while growing in godliness takes place over a period of time.

Sanctification is not a process to be feared or to be born as a burden.

Rather, it is to be embraced with joy, and with a zealous cooperation with the One who is sanctifying us. There can be no lasting good and happiness for any of us until we submit to God’s sanctifying process and become new creatures filled with deep, life-affecting love for God and our fellowman. As we see the truth of this, we will plead with God to press the issue of sanctification in our life, holding back for nothing, so we can become everything He saved us to be.

What about you? Are you willingly, intentionally, eagerly, zealously submitting to God’s sanctifying process? If you do not seem to be cooperating as you should, are you willing to face up to the fears and/or desires which are getting in the way of God’s purifying process? Are you willing to take responsibility for your resistance to

God’s working in you? Are you willing to ask God to work in you in order to bring you to that place where you will willingly, intentionally, eagerly, zealously, and fully participate in His sanctifying work?

God will see you through as long as you keep cooperating with Him and depending on Him to enable change. It may require some time before you see major changes taking place, but you will be changed. God is faithful, and He will bring to pass all that He has promised. You can stake your life on it.

No

Other Foundation
Book 2
Needful Truths for

Children of Light

Chapter Six
The Promises of God for Sanctification

The

Bible is filled with promises from God for beginning, working through, and bringing to completion the process of sanctification. As you read each of the following portions of Scripture, make a list of the promises and provisions found there. When you have completed this chapter, examine your list and determine how you can make new, renewed, or improved efforts at putting God’s promises and provisions to work in your life.

II Peter

1:3-4

God, by His humanly-unfathomable and universally-matchless power has provided us with everything we need to live a godly life in this sin-sick world — in spite of our human frailties. We are able to discern what He has provided and how to use His provisions to live according to His Word by coming to an accurate knowledge of His character, attributes, and purposes for us. Through His glory and goodness, He has made known His desire to adopt us and father us to spiritual maturity — teaching us to love as He loves so that we will be holy as He is holy. Therefore, He has given us extraordinary and precious promises so that we can take on His nature, since we have been freed from the enslaving power and practice of sin.

Hebrews

2:17-18; 4:15-16

God, through the person of His son, Jesus Christ, came to earth and lived as one of us. Therefore, He understands, in a firsthand, personal experience way, the weakness of our flesh. He understands the strength of our enemy, the devil. He knows about the accumulative and addictive power of sin. He understands the treachery of self-deception and the difficulty of breaking sinful habits. He understands the power of society to influence us toward self-interest and sin. And having experienced the powerful temptations related to unjust suffering at the hands of self-absorbed, inhumane, power-hungry sinners, He knows how to help us in our time of temptation. But more than that, He sympathizes with our human weaknesses because He has gone through what we are going through — though He himself went through it without giving in to temptation and sinning. Therefore, we can boldly and confidently come to Him in times of temptation and draw on His kind, wise, generous, temptation-defeating help.

What a loving Father we have! He has taken the steps necessary to understand life from our perspective so He can give us the kind of help we need to stand strong against temptation. All we have to do is come to Him, and then cooperate with the help He gives.

I

Corinthians 10:13; II Thessalonians 3:3

God promises that He will not allow us to be tempted with any temptation that we are unable to resist. In other words, God will not allow anyone, including the devil, to place a temptation before us that is stronger than our current strength, maturity, and ability to resist. Therefore, on becoming

God’s child, we can count on Him to shield us from any allurement, circumstance, relationship, or hardship that can overpower us so that we are unable to resist the consequent temptation to do what we know is wrong. In addition, God promises to provide a way to escape temptation’s seductively captivating allure. Because of these two promises, we never have to face overpoweringly-irresistible temptation or be held captive by the lure of temptation until we give in.

James

4:7; I Peter 5:8-9; Luke 4:1-13; II Peter 2:9

God promises that if we resist the devil, he will flee. This is not intended to make us arrogant, as if we should think ourselves superior to the devil’s strength and so laugh in the devil’s face. It is not our power or doing which makes the devil flee when we resist him, but God’s. Neither does this mean that resisting the devil once frees us from being bothered by the devil again. What it means is that resisting the devil is one of God’s provisions for ending a particular temptation and releasing us from the pressure to give in.

Christ, during His forty days in the wilderness following His baptism, set the example for us. His method of resistance was to quote scripture verses appropriate to the temptation. We are wise to follow this example. There may be other methods too, but the important point is that when we resist the devil, we can count on God to make him back off — thus putting an end to that particular temptation at that moment.

I

John 1:9, 2:1-2

God promises to forgive us when we sin. To be forgiven, we must come to Him and confess our sin. To confess our sin to God includes four things.

First, it requires acknowledging to God that what we have done is wrong and we have no justifying excuse for having done it. Second, it requires making things right with God and whomever else we hurt by the wrong we have done. Third, it requires a humble acceptance of the consequences due for having done what we knew was wrong. Finally, it requires taking serious, and when necessary, prolonged action in an effort to put an end to that kind of sinful behavior.

Nothing good comes from admitting to having sinned when we are unwilling to make things right, take our lumps, and do what is necessary to change. Such an admission is worthless because we are confessing a sin we intend to keep committing. Forgiveness under such circumstances would make it safe to sin, not bring an end to our sin.

It would spoil us, thus turning us into worse sinners, rather than strengthening our resolve to do what we know is right. It would leave our relationship with God and any others we hurt in a state of disrepair or alienation rather than bringing healing and reconciliation. So do not think God forgives such worthless admissions.

It is only when we confess our sin (steps one through four)

that God can be counted on to forgive us our sin.

On the other hand, we need not fear the devil’s efforts to turn

God against us because we have sinned. Nor should we think God wants nothing to do with us after we have sinned. Such thoughts simply serve to keep us from true confession, restoration of relationship with God, and returning to the ways of God. God wants to share a relationship of mutual love and trust with us. He wants a huge family who loves their

Father, and each other. So, when we confess our sin, honestly and responsibly, God forgives, forgets, and all is well between us again.

Romans

5:3-5; James 1:2-4; I Peter 1:6-9

God promises to use the persecution, difficult times, disappointments, sorrows, and the pains of life brought on by persecutors (those who harass or oppress Christians), irritating people, and undesirable circumstances to improve the quality of our Christian character and strengthen our commitment to do what we know is right.

The interesting part of this promise is that when we demonstrate quality of character and perseverance under pressure, the quality of our character improves and our determination to persevere in doing what we know is right is strengthened. In other words, when we respond right to difficult times, we grow in our ability to respond right to difficult times.

But what would make us want to see persecution, tribulations, sorrows, and difficult times as a blessing instead of a curse? Why would we count it all joy to experience such things as these? The only rational and lasting motivation is love of God and of our fellowman — a love which compels us to continue to grow in Christ-likeness so we can continue to mature in our love for

God and others.

When we love God supremely and others as ourselves, our love for them motivates us to become the very best lovers we can be for their sake.

Our longing to love as they each need to be loved motivates us to grow and mature all we can. Therefore, because we love them, because we want what is best for them, the growing and maturing process is seen as a blessing, not a curse.

This promise does not mean God wants bad things to happen to us. Bad things happen to us because we, and everyone else in the world, have chosen our way over God’s way, selfishness over love, and sin over righteousness. Yet in spite of our waywardness, God wants what is best for us. Therefore, He is committed to sanctifying everyone who comes to

Him for salvation from sin. In sanctifying us, He makes the most of every circumstance we get in, good or bad.

If we will nestle in God’s arms and cling to Him no matter how fierce the storm, He will use difficult situations for the further development of our Christian character and spiritual maturity. So do not become discouraged, bitter, depressed, or angry at God when people, relationships, or circumstances go sour. Instead, rejoice that you have a ready opportunity to become more Christ-like, and in so doing, improve your love for God and fellowman.

Matthew

7:7-8; James 4:3; I John 5:14-15

God promises we can come to Him in prayer with the confidence that He will hear and answer. So we should pray earnestly and continuously, day after day, until we see God’s answer. This promise does not mean God will spoil us by giving us whatever we ask for. He is too wise and loving for that. He knows spoiling children ruins them, and the same is true for adults. Therefore, pray wisely and sincerely. Pray for the things that really matter, from an eternal perspective. Pray with the right motive. Then trust God to answer in a way that promotes and protects the good of everyone affected in any way by getting what we asked for.

John

14:26; I John 2:27

God promises to teach us all we need to know about how to live as one of

His children. He uses things like circumstances, family members, friends, neighbors, co-workers, church members, ministers, the Bible, the conviction of the Holy Spirit, our ability to reason and think, our conscience, and good books to teach us. He empowers and enables whatever He uses so that it is able to accomplish its intended purpose.

However, we must cooperate with His educational process if it is to have its intended effect in us. Truly, He is able to teach us the most when we are hungry to learn, taking in His instruction as if it were the only food available for a starving soul.

We need Him to teach us, because He is the source of truth itself. Every human source of truth is tainted by our humanity. Apart from being taught by God through any of His chosen means, we can only get close to the truth — a closeness still so far away as to lead us astray. Therefore, we are wise to seek His instruction all our life.

James

1:5-8

God promises to give us wisdom if we ask for it. This means we can have all the wisdom we request, with one condition. He requires us to act on the wisdom given before giving more. Here is the reason. If we ask God for wisdom and then doubt its sensibleness, we are doubting not only the wisdom given, but the giver, too. In other words, to ask for wisdom and then disregard God’s response sends the message we will only make use of God’s wisdom if it meets with our approval. This in turn says we don’t think it is safe to trust God completely. So though we are asking for wisdom, our real intent is to get more options. If

God’s wisdom seems our best option, we take it. Such an approach leaves us open to the leading of our feelings and the pressures of the moment so that we end up running here and there putting out fires instead of removing the cause of the fires.

Therefore, ask God for wisdom having already decided He knows more than you, and having already decided you will fully submit to the wisdom given. This is asking in faith, the kind of faith that meets

God’s condition for being given wisdom.

One final thought. Ask God for wisdom, often, and in extraordinary amounts.

You will never regret it. If you do this, you will only regret not having asked for more, more often, and before now.

Hebrews

12:5b-11; Revelation 3:19

God promises to discipline us for our good, and the good of everyone affected by our choices and behavior. This is a wonderful show of love by our loving Father toward us and everyone affected by our choices and behavior. Because God is good, we can trust Him to do this without fearing His methods. He takes no pleasure in punishing us. He has no desire to harm us. He is not out to get us. Nor does He want to get rid of us. He is not unfair in His dealings with us. He has no double standards. He isn’t impossible to please. Indeed, He is looking for measurable progress, not perfection. His single motive in disciplining us is only and always to seek our good, and the good of everyone affected by all we say and do. Treasure this promise. See

God’s love for you in His discipline. But more importantly, cooperate with His lessons and methods.

John

14:27; Philippians 4:6-7

God promises that He will give us a calm assurance and deep inner peace in the face of turmoil and difficult times. All we have to do is tell Him what the problem is, tell Him what we would like Him to do, and then leave the rest to Him. He may or may not handle the matter the way we request, but He will take care of it. And as we give Him full rein to do what is best for all involved, He pours peace into our inner being.

So, don’t waste precious time on anxiety and fear. Go to God in prayer. Tell Him what the problem is. Then, leave it with Him. When we trust God to be our provider and protector, we are free from inner turmoil even when everyone and everything around us is in turmoil.

Romans

8:1

God promises that when we are in Christ there is no more condemnation.

Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but to save all who repent of sin and put their trust in Him. God takes no pleasure in sending anyone to hell. Truly, He doesn’t want anyone to die in their sin.

His passion is to rescue us from our own folly, redeem us from sin, and reconcile us to Himself. Therefore, there is no more condemnation for all who are in Christ Jesus.

No more condemnation frees us to focus on becoming what God saved us to be, rather than on fearing what God will do if we sin. Not that we should ever take sin lightly, or fail to feel guilty over having sinned. But guilt is intended to produce repentance. Repentance is intended to produce a changed life. Once we have repented, we should move on in the way of God. To continue feeling guilty and condemned is to lose time needed for being conformed to the likeness of Christ.

Don’t waste that time. It’s too precious. Devote yourself to forward progress in becoming all God saved you to be.

Matthew

6:33

God promises to make sure all our physical needs are cared for when our primary concern is the building of His kingdom and the advancement of

His loving ways. As we take our focus off ourselves and what we need, and put our focus on serving God so as to accomplish His purposes in ourselves and our world, God will make sure we have what we need.

This promise frees us to live for God and give to those in need with the confidence that His provision and protection is always greater than what it may cost us to build His kingdom and advance His loving ways. Leaving the concern for our well-being in God’s hands makes it reasonable, rational, sensible, prudent, and wise to get our focus off the good of self and on the good of God and others.

Philippians

1:6

God promises that He will bring to completion His sanctifying work in us.

Before repenting of sin and putting faith in God, we spent too many years selfishly gratifying ourselves in an effort to find happiness and fulfillment — and too often in the wrong places and in wrong ways. Some of us feasted on things like alcohol, drugs, sex, food, physical fitness, laziness, entertainment, acceptance, power, fame, possessions, and money. Some of us feasted on fear, self-pity, depression, bitterness, hatred, and revenge. Whatever we have done, however bad we have been, we have not been bad enough to keep God from making us new creatures. No matter how sinful we’ve been,

God’s power to change us is greater than our sinfulness. He will perform His sanctifying work in us until every sinful thought, habit, word, and deed is gone and righteous, loving ways are put in their place.

In

Summary

The promises of God are sure, dependable, and eternal. They have been given to thwart sin, and advance righteousness. They have been given to free us from the power and practice of sin. They are a vital means to whole-life, life-long godliness. And, they are ours for the using. Now it is up to us to make proper use of them. You will be blessed if you do. But even more, you will bring honor to God and be a blessing to others if you do.

No

Other Foundation
Book 2
Needful Truths for

Children of Light

Chapter Seven
The Christian's Responsibility in Sanctification

The

Contents Of This Chapter

- In Sanctification

- Eighteen Things God

Has Given Us to Do

1. Act On the Truth

You Know

2. Choose Love

3. Don’t

Love the Wrong Things

4. Make

God’s Work Your Top Priority

5. Put Off the Old and Put On the New

6. Get Rid of All

That Defiles

7. Renew Your

Mind — Think Godly

8. Think of Yourself

As Dead to Sin

9. Tenaciously Pursue

Godliness

10. Develop

Self-discipline

11. Prepare for Holy

Living

12. Pray for Wisdom

13. Search the

Scriptures

14. Use Your Time

Wisely

15. Resist Sinners

When They Sin

16. Do Not Return to the Practice of Sin

17. Regularly Examine

Yourself

18. Persevere to the

End

- Four Suggestions for Progress

1. Think

Seriously and Deeply

2. Pray Wisely,

Pray Persistently

3. Get Help

When You Need It

4. Have a Plan and Work Your Plan

- Daily Preparation

- In Summary

In Sanctification

By the blood of the lamb and the death of the first-born God freed the

Israelites from bondage in Egypt. By the mighty waters of the Red Sea,

God crushed the Egyptian army, thus breaking the Egyptians'

power to hold the Israelites captive. By the cloud and pillar of fire

God dwelt among the Israelites, leading them to a new life in their new homeland. By the tablets of stone God gave them written instructions on how to live. All of this God did for the salvation of Israel from

Egypt — a salvation which was all God’s doing, because the Israelites were powerless to do any of it themselves.

Just before entering the Promised Land, Moses reminded the Israelites of

God’s command to take the land by destroying its sinful inhabitants. This was something different from their salvation experience. God had accomplished Israel’s salvation all by

Himself, but He was not going to rid the land of evil all by Himself.

War with the enemy was God’s method of sanctifying the Promised

Land. He would empower and equip Israel, but they had to confront and engage the enemy in battle, day after day, until victory was won. He promised victory, and by His mighty miracle-working power, victory it would be. But Israel had to get up each day, make their battle plans, put on their battle gear, and go out and fight until the enemy was destroyed.

God had the power to destroy the sinful inhabitants of the Promised Land in the blink of an eye. But He wasn’t going to do that. Instead,

He created a process of purification — a process that required a cooperative effort, personal responsibility, complete trust in God, obedience to God, hatred of evil, an unrelenting commitment to purity, time, focus, and perseverance on the part of the

Israelites. He set up a process whereby total victory could only be achieved as Israel conquered the enemy they could see, village by village, people group by people group, area after area, until all evil was defeated and good established in its place. And why did God choose this method? So Israel could grow and mature in those ways necessary to possess the entire land and preserve its purity. God knew that immediate, total victory would leave too much of the land untended and result in its desolation and the increase of wild animals.

In looking carefully at God’s chosen method of cleansing the

Promised Land, we see several important implications for us today.

First, Israel had to take responsibility for ridding the land of evil.

This means the land would be as pure as Israel wanted it to be. Second,

Israel had to trust God implicitly. This is because God’s promised power for victory would only evidence itself when Israel was in the heat of battle — not before or after. Third,

Israel had to obey God explicitly. This is because any other way than

God’s prescribed way would result in defeat by the enemy or co-habitation with the enemy — both of which would be equal to willfully returning to bondage in Egypt. Fourth, Israel would battle with only one or two enemies at a time. This would keep them from feeling overwhelmed by the task. Fifth, Israel would either be preparing for war or fighting, almost every day, until total victory was secure. This would require a genuine hatred of evil and an unremitting commitment to purity. Sixth, Israel would have to persevere to the end lest any portion of the enemy revive and retake lost land.

This would only happen if Israel genuinely and faithfully did everything they knew to do, as they knew to do it. And finally, if

Israel worked this process, they would have sufficient time to become numerous enough and mature enough to possess the whole land and safeguard its purity by the time they conquered its last sinful inhabitant. (Note: Exodus 23:29-33; Deuteronomy 31:1-8; Joshua 3:9-17)

As with Israel and the Promised Land, so it is with our salvation and sanctification. God has done everything necessary to save us from the power, the practice, and the penalty of sin. He has done it because we cannot do it on our own or for ourselves. However, once saved, we face the task of taking the land, of putting off the old nature and putting on the new, of dying to self and coming alive to God, of denying self and following Christ, of destroying all the godlessness that is in us and putting on the likeness of Christ, of being sanctified. But, to the praise of God, we do not face this task alone any more than the

Israelites faced their task alone.

God promises to empower us and equip us for battle. He guarantees victory over our self-centered habits, self-defeating beliefs, and irrational fears if we will battle against them. He enables us to replace the evil in us with good, thus establishing Christ-likeness where sin once ruled. And

He remains faithful to His promises until victory is secure. This is

God’s part, and we can stake our lives on Him keeping His word.

Our part lies before us. We must want to engage the enemy and fight through to victory. We must be determined to persevere, especially when victory seems impossible or defeat seems imminent. We must learn to use every piece of fighting equipment God provides. We must identify the enemy before us. (Fortunately, by fighting the enemy before us we only have to face one or two enemies at a time — which keeps us from feeling overwhelmed.) We must get up each day, make our plans, dress for battle, and then engage the enemy until victory is won or bedtime calls. We must remain vigilant so defeated foes cannot resurrect and retake conquered land. And, we must fight to the finish to be totally and forever free of any and every enemy.

Like God’s plan for Israel’s taking of the Promised land, our sanctification is a process. There will be no once-for-all victory. There are no magic wands to make the enemy disappear. There are no shortcuts or quick fixes for long-standing, deeply-rooted, sinful habits. But there will be lots of hard-fought battles.

Do not let anyone deceive you in this matter. We must do the fighting, going through a process of battles and victories to throw sin out and become holy like God is holy. Therefore, we can be and will be as holy, as pure, as Christ-like, as we want to be.

Eighteen Things God Has Given Us to Do

Sanctification is for everyone who puts their faith and trust in Jesus for salvation from sin. Yet knowing that this is God’s intention and experiencing it as God intends can be as far apart as the east is from the west. However, failure to be sanctified as God intends is never God’s fault. It is our fault. God has done, and will continue to do, everything necessary to empower and enable us to be conformed to the image of His son, Jesus Christ. (A review of

God’s promises confirms this.) We must do our part if purity is to come. We must want to get rid of sin and do our part in getting rid of it if God’s sanctifying process is to accomplish its intended work of purifying us.

Following are eighteen things God asks us to do in the process of sanctification. They come directly from God’s Word. Read each one carefully. Give serious consideration to what God asks us to do.

And as you read, pray for God’s help in clearly seeing how you can improve your part in cooperating with God’s sanctifying process.

1: Act On the Truth You Know

Everyone who hears or reads the Word of God and does what it says may be compared to a wise man who built his house on a solid foundation.

Anyone who hears or reads the Word of God and does not do what it says is like the foolish man who built his house on the sand — thinking the ground is foundation enough. The house built on the solid foundation will stand (be approved at the judgment of God), whereas the house built on the sand will fall (be condemned to eternal banishment in hell).

The important point here is to live up to what you know. If you know two things or a thousand things about right and wrong, live up to what you know. Be diligent, serious minded, careful, and consistent in doing what you know is right. Be equally diligent to not do what you know is wrong. What you expect of others, do yourself. What you do not like in others, do not allow in yourself. Where you know what is right, do what is right. Where you know what is wrong, do not do what is wrong. Live up to the knowledge you have about right and wrong.

Truly, it is not how much you know, but what you do with what you know that separates the sheep from the goats, the born-again believers from the unbelievers, the children of God from the children of the devil.

And living up to what you know cannot be fulfilled by selective goodness — as if living up to eighty percent of what you know is right means you are building your house on a solid foundation. God, in His Word, confirms that selective goodness is not true goodness. He says that no one who is born-again deliberately and repeatedly does what he knows is wrong (practices sin).

The one who practices sin, who deliberately and repeatedly does what he knows is wrong, be it in one thing or many, is a child of the devil. So do not take lightly your responsibility to live up to what you know.

Therefore, to promote the sanctifying process in your life, make it your goal to do what you know is right. (Note: Matthew 7:24-27; James

1:22-25; I John 3:2-10)

2: Choose Love

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. This is God’s requirement, and there is no requirement greater than this. Therefore, choose love.

When we choose love, we are choosing to make God’s good the primary concern in everything we think, believe, do, and say. (This is how we love God, by doing what He says. I John 5:3)

When we choose love, we are choosing to seek the good of everyone affected in any way by our choices and behavior. (Love does no harm to its neighbor; love therefore is the fulfillment of the law. Romans

13:10)

When we choose love, we are voluntarily choosing to do what we know is right out of concern for the good of God and the good of others. Any other motive for doing good preserves the good of self as its primary concern. This means there is more of self than there is love in the deeds done, which means it is not true goodness. Therefore, the right motive is vital to true goodness and our prolonged practice of doing good. We see how important this truth is to God in His words to the

Corinthians. (May each of us do as we have purposed in our hearts; not grudgingly or under pressure; because God loves a cheerful giver. II Corinthians 9:7; And if I give all my worldly wealth to meet the needs of the poor, and if I give my life in service to others, but do not love, I will not receive the rewards given by God to those who act from the motive of love. I Corinthians 13:3)

When we choose love, it is because we have come to value, above all else, relationships built on mutual love and trust. This high regard for meaningful relationships is the direct result of a lovingly intimate relationship with God, our Father. In other words, in being reconciled to Him and living in intimate companionship and communion with Him, we clearly see that God’s grand and noble purpose in creating us is to join with Him and all who love as He loves in meaningful relationships. We see how quickly and thoroughly self-centeredness damages and destroys such relationships. And we see that only love promotes and protects meaningful relationships. Therefore, we zealously deny self and put relationship-building love in its place — for the sake of our relationship with God, and then for the sake of promoting and protecting meaningfully mutual relationships with all whom God loves. Should such an effort be absent, it means we have yet to be born-again. (… everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. If we do not love, it is proof we do not know God, for God is love. I John 4:7b-8)

Love is a choice. It is the choice to seek the good of everyone affected by our thoughts, attitudes, words, and deeds. It is the choice to do what we know is right, for the good of God and all whom God loves.

Endearment is largely feelings. It is feeling cherished, treasured, admired, respected, accepted, considered, cared for, supported, helped, protected, safe, and secure. It is the kind of feeling which motivates us to love in return — giving as we have received.

When we understand that love is a choice and endearment is a feeling, we can better understand why God will not make us love anyone, Himself included. He has loved us first, thus giving us the motivation of endearment to love as we have been loved. He will do everything in His power to help us develop true love, if we ask for His help. He empowers us and provides everything we need to love as He loves us. But we must make the voluntary and deliberate choice to love. We must get up each day and put on love until it is our nature to love, just as it is

God’s nature to love.

If we willfully neglect love, we will be saying by our neglect that we do not yet know God, or that we no longer want to know God. So do not take lightly your responsibility to love — to seek the good of everyone affected in any way by your choices and behavior.

Therefore, to promote the sanctifying process in your life, make it your goal to love as you are loved by God. (Note: Matthew 22:36-40;

Luke 6:27-35; Ephesians 5:1-2; Philippians 2:3-4; Colossians 3:14;

I Peter 4:8-10; I John 4:7-8, 11)

3: Don’t Love the Wrong Things

The world is full of attractive, pleasing, self-exalting, self-gratifying, monetarily-enriching, personally-empowering, fame-producing opportunities, experiences, and possessions. The world also has many good opportunities, worthy experiences, and helpful possessions.

Regardless, it is up to us to choose not to love wrong things. This means we are not to love anything which competes with, impedes, or outright blocks our love for God and all whom God loves.

To choose to love someone or something which competes with, impedes, or blocks our love for God is to choose not to love God as we ought. We clearly see the truth of this in marriage. When a husband has love interests which compete with, impede, or block his love for his wife, it causes her to feel unloved, and rightly so. In choosing to love the wrong things, he is, by his own choosing, choosing not to love his wife as the one who should receive his love above all other earthly attractions. God confirms this truth when He says that in loving the wrong things, we prove we really do not love Him at all.

Loving the right things is essential to progress in the sanctifying process. So do not take lightly your responsibility to resist loving the wrong things. Therefore, to promote the sanctifying process in your life, make it your goal to love in a manner which promotes supreme love of God and love of others which is at least equal to your love of self.

Should anyone or anything get in the way of this goal, act quickly to put it in its proper place or remove it altogether. (Note: I John 2:15)

4: Make God’s Work Your Top Priority

As a new-born believer who is now a member of the family of God, make it your number one goal to think and act as one who no longer lives for himself, but for the one who died and rose again on your behalf. In other words, make it your life-long priority to do the work of

God — building His kingdom and advancing His righteousness in your area of the world.

Making God’s work our top priority does not come naturally. Doing our own thing, looking out for our own interests, advancing our own well-being, these are the things which come naturally. And these interests are powerful enough to motivate us to put something other than God’s work first when making the following three, life-affecting, hard-to-change choices: 1) what career we choose, 2)

who we marry, 3) where we live.

If we make any or all of these three choices with something other than

God’s work as our top priority, we will proceed to live for self as long as we remain faithful to the choice(s) we made. Therefore, the best way is to make God’s work our top priority before making any of these three choices. But should we come to our senses after having made one or more of them, we must take corrective action if the sanctifying process is to proceed as God intends.

Of course, divorce is not an option for those who have a spouse who will not join them in making God’s work the top priority. Intense prayer, compromise, trade-offs, good conflict resolution — these are the things that offer the most hope for correcting the course. But should nothing work, we are left to live a crippled Christ-like life. But be careful not to despise the crippling spouse. He or she is to be loved and respected as much as ever, for our crippled state is of our own choosing. We can blame no one but ourselves for having made a life-long choice with wrong priorities.

The other two choices, career and location of home, can be changed if you are willing to pay the price. Of course, an unwillingness to pay the price is a clear indication that God’s work is hardly your top priority.

You will need an abundance of wisdom to make the kind of changes which enable you to put God’s work first. So, go to God and ask Him for wisdom until you have the wisdom you need. Knowledge is important, too. Ask those older and wiser for insight and direction. If you have children, thoughtfully and gently help them with whatever adjustments must be made. They are not likely to share your priority, so put yourself in their shoes and help them by seeing these changes through their eyes. And remember, making God’s work your priority does not limit you to missionary work, church, or para-church ministry of some kind. What it means is that your employment and your home location are chosen on the basis of your priority, so that both offer the optimum opportunity to do God’s work.

So then, do not take lightly your responsibility to make God’s work your top priority. It is your responsibility to make the kind of choices which enable you to thoughtfully, persistently, and aggressively keep this as your priority. Therefore, to promote the sanctifying process in your life, make it your goal to seek first

God’s kingdom and His righteousness, and in so doing, to live for the one who died for you. (Note: Matthew 6:33; II Corinthians

5:14-15)

5: Put Off the Old and Put On the New

Put off your old way of living and put on God’s new way of living. This is an activity of your will. It is something you can do.

It is something you must do because God will not do this for you. He has given you the responsibility to put sinful desires, evil passions, unloving habits, and self-centered impulses out of your life. In addition, He has given you the responsibility to replace those sinful ways with godly, loving ways.

To put off the old, we must first identify what the old is. The old way is the way of our flesh, the way of self-centeredness, the way of false beliefs, irrational fears, immoral desires, greed, envy, drunkenness, cruel anger, abusive speech, fighting, vengeance, prejudice, bitterness, unkindness, discontent, slander, gossip, dishonesty and other such things as these. God’s Word, the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, our conscience, examining our criticisms of others, good preachers, thought-provoking books, and people’s criticisms of us can help us identify what old ways are still in us.

Once identified, we have the responsibility to take action equal to the problem for the purpose of casting the old ways out of our lives.

However, a life emptied of old ways is open to things worse than what was there. So, replace the old ways with new ways, the ways of God, the ways of love, the ways of right beliefs and rational thinking, of godliness, sensibleness, kindness, forgiveness, compassion, humility, gentleness, patience, contentment, and other such things as these. And here again, God’s Word, knowing how we want to be treated, good teachers, helpful books, and the leading of the Holy Spirit can help us know what new ways need to be added to our lives. Such additions often take time and persistent work because old established patterns must be broken and new ways must be established in their place.

Do not be deceived on this point. If old ways remain, and you know they are there, they remain because you want them there. You determine the pace and the extent to which you cast off sinful ways and put on godly ways. So do not take lightly your responsibility to put off the old ways and replace them with God’s new ways. Therefore, to promote the sanctifying process in your life, make it your goal to seriously, zealously, and persistently work at putting off the old and putting on the new. (Note: Ephesians 4:22-25, 31; Colossians 3:8,

12-13; I Peter 2:1-2)

6: Get Rid of All That Defiles

The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. Yet it is our responsibility to get rid of all that defiles us. It is our responsibility to throw overboard anything and everything that gets in the way of becoming what

God saved us to be. It is our responsibility to become that clean vessel which God can use to accomplish His purposes. It is our responsibility to purify ourselves in anticipation of one day enjoying

God’s presence, face-to-face. It is our responsibility, until our dying day, to persevere to the end — to zealously and faithfully take all the action necessary to get rid of all that defiles.

The place to begin in identifying what defiles is to accept personal responsibility for our choices and behavior. Accepting responsibility begins by admitting we do what we do because that is precisely what we want to do, and no one else is to blame. This means no longer blaming circumstances, other people, our past, or God for our failure to choose and do what we know is right. Blaming is the coward’s way, the prideful person’s way, the dishonest person’s way, and the self-deceived person’s way of refusing to acknowledge the sin that is in his own life. Seeing clearly what is in us is the first step to getting rid of all that defiles.

Getting rid of all that defiles is not an option. It is as vital to the sanctifying process as marriage partners spending the rest of their lives getting rid of all that damages their relationship in any way is vital to a good marriage. It may take the rest of our lives, but getting rid of all that defiles is never an option to be chosen or set aside at our whim. Indeed, to willfully set it aside is to explicitly proclaim that we do not love God supremely and are no longer interested in loving others as ourselves. To deliberately set it aside is to say we care more about ourselves than about promoting and protecting relationships built on mutual love and trust. To knowingly set it aside is to purposefully stop living for God and return to living for ourselves. This is not the way of love. We may know Christians who have stopped getting rid of all that defiles, but let us never defend this practice.

To knowingly and intentionally stop getting rid of all that defiles is indefensible. Indeed, it is foolish, for it places our souls at great risk of eternal damnation. So do not take lightly your responsibility to get rid of all that defiles. Do not change the word

“all” to “most,” or think that because you have done it for a number of years you have done enough.

Therefore, to promote the sanctifying process in your life, make it your goal to thoughtfully, prayerfully, courageously, tenaciously, and persistently get rid of all that defiles. (Note:

II Corinthians 7:1; II Timothy 2:20-21; I John 3:2-3)

7: Renew Your Mind — Think

Godly

Transformation begins in the mind. What we set our mind on, or what we allow ourselves to think about is what we become. Truly, we are in character the sum of our thoughts. For this very reason the Christian life begins with repentance, which is a change of mind. In like manner, the Christian life is brought to maturity by the continued transformation of our mind.

However, transforming our mind is no easy task. We are constantly bombarded by the temptation to think in self-centered ways. We are under pressure by the sinful people around us to think as they think. Radio, television, periodicals, billboards, and the like woo our minds into godless thinking. Add to these the difficulties of life mingled with a bit of self-pity and our thoughts can be as far from godly as

Satan’s.

As difficult as it may seem, God has given us the responsibility to renew our mind by directing and redirecting our thoughts so that we think on godly things. It is our responsibility to think thoughts that reinforce our love for God, our complete trust in God, our love of mankind, the value of relationships, our hatred of sin, our denial of self, and our pursuit of holiness. It is our responsibility to reject and discard thoughts that encourage love of self, distrust of God, seeking the good of self at the expense of others, and any other thing that leads us back to godlessness.

We are not always able to control what thoughts come into our mind. For this reason, we may find ourselves thinking vile thoughts. However, we have total control over what we do with such thoughts once we are aware they have entered our minds. Should a wrong thought enter, we can stop the thought and redirect our thoughts toward godly thinking. If good thoughts are there, we can encourage them and strengthen them by dwelling on them. If we need to develop good thinking in a certain area, we can spend time thinking right thoughts about that area when we have the time to meditate on anything we want. In these ways, we can direct and redirect our thoughts toward godly thinking, thus renewing our mind and transforming our life.

If you think about things that are good, true, pure, relationship building, and of a godly nature, it will help you become that kind of person. If you spend time thinking about things that are self-pitying, slanderous, sensual, self-gratifying, haughty, resentful, derogatory, hostile, dishonest, and discouraging, you will be influenced by those thoughts to become that kind of person. So do not take lightly your responsibility to renew your mind by thinking godly. It is your responsibility to choose to think about the kind of things that help you live the Christ-like life. Therefore, to promote the sanctifying process in your life, make it your goal to direct and redirect your thoughts so as to renew your mind and transform your life. (Note:

Romans 12:2; Philippians 4:8; Colossians 3:2)

8: Think of Yourself As Dead to Sin

In His death,

Christ died to sin. In His life, He lives for God. According to

God’s Word, our old nature was crucified with Christ, thus freeing us from slavery to sin. Once we are born again, we can live for

God just as Christ lives for God. In accordance with this great truth, think of yourself as dead to the power and practice of sin, and alive to God. This is an activity of our intellect – something we have to do in our thought life. We do this by seeing ourselves, imagining ourselves, thinking of ourselves as freed slaves no longer under the control of our old master, sin. We are free to live as Christ-ones, as ones who can and who intentionally choose to live for God instead of themselves.

As freed ones, we do not have to sin anymore. That old master can threaten, cajole, plead, try to trick us, or any other such thing, but we do not have to do what he says. We can, however, act as those who are under his control. We can even go back and submit, so as to give him control over us. Therefore, to keep from acting like sinners or going back to our old master sin, we must believe this truth about ourselves, and think of ourselves as dead to sin and alive to God.

This is important, because how we see ourselves significantly affects how we behave. For this reason, God has made it our responsibility to initiate and sustain a mindset, a mental picture, a perception of ourselves which reinforces our deadness to sin and aliveness to doing what He says. Any lesser view leaves us mentally open to re-submitting to sin’s influence and control. Surely, we will fail enough without telling ourselves we are still under sin’s control and therefore helpless to stop the practice of known sin.

So do not take lightly your responsibility to think of yourself as dead to sin. This mindset is vital to your spiritual development. To hold any other view opens the door to your old master, sin, and allows him to come in. Therefore, to promote the sanctifying process in your life, make it your goal, each and every day, to see yourself as completely dead to sin’s power over you. Then complete that picture by seeing yourself as completely alive to God and eager to do everything

He says. As you think this way, you will act this way. (Note: Romans

6:11; Colossians 3:5)

9: Tenaciously Pursue Godliness

Keep on asking, and it shall be given to you. Keep on seeking, and you shall find what you are searching for. Keep on knocking, and the door to what you want will be opened. In other words, pursue godliness through

God’s process of sanctification as if you were starving and it was your food, or as if you were dying of thirst and it was your drink, or as if giving up were not an option.

The fervor with which we pursue godliness is up to us. And because we have been given this responsibility, we have the freedom to pursue it lackadaisically and half-heartedly as opposed to zealously and sincerely. However, it is reasonable for God to expect that we would pursue godliness with the same tenacity as a wife would expect her husband to pursue faithfulness to her alone and happiness with her above all others. If we don’t want godliness at this level, our less-than-serious effort is saying the same thing about our love for God as what our spouse’s less-than-serious effort says about his or her love for us.

Trying harder, looking farther, praying longer, hungering, thirsting — these are descriptions of pursuing doing what you know is right in a manner equal to the need. These are descriptions of the level of effort you expect from those whose choices and behavior directly affect you. Therefore, these are descriptions of the level of effort you are responsible to make in cooperating with

God’s sanctifying process. So do not take lightly your responsibility to pursue godliness in a manner equal to your need to be godly. To promote the sanctifying process in your life, make it your goal to tenaciously pursue godliness. (Note: Matthew 5:6, 7:7-8)

10: Develop Self-discipline

It is rare to live a day in this world without being tempted. Temptation is all around us, and it even comes from within us. To consistently resist temptation, day after day, we need self-discipline. We need self-discipline for preparation, for thought redirection, and for patiently waiting on God to act on our behalf. We need self-discipline for choosing what we know is right, even when we are exhausted or frazzled or stressed beyond the breaking point. We need self-discipline for doing what we know is right when everything within us wants to do what we know is wrong. We need self-discipline for getting up after failure and resetting our sights on becoming all that God saved us to be. We need self-discipline for fighting the enemy, again and again, until he is thoroughly defeated.

Without self-discipline, you will too often do what you know is wrong, or too easily return to what you were. So do not take lightly your responsibility to develop self-discipline. If you understand its necessity in the scholastic arena or on the job, then you can understand its necessity for growing in godliness. Therefore, to promote the sanctifying process in your life, make it your goal to develop self-discipline. (Note: I Timothy 4:7-8)

11: Prepare for Holy Living

No one enters an Olympic race expecting to win without first going through extensive training in preparation for the race. No one takes a final exam with the expectation of passing without preparing for the test.

When someone is tipped off that his house is going to be burglarized, he makes preparations to thwart the burglary and protect his possessions. So why do we try to live the Christian life without adequately preparing, each day, to live up to what we know?

The development and improvement of such things as: a supreme love of God, rational love for our fellowman, renewal of the mind, thought redirection when tempted, and self-discipline requires work — work in advance of the times when we are most severely tempted or challenged in any of these areas. We will not consistently resist the devil, flee youthful lusts, make no provision for the flesh, think of ourselves as dead to sin, properly respond to our feelings, and guard our tongue without being in a reasonable state of readiness to act when tempted. We cannot develop such readiness without preparation equal to the task. Should we fail to prepare, we will most often do as we have done — thus needlessly prolonging, or outright thwarting, the sanctifying process.

Therefore, do not take lightly your responsibility to prepare each day for holy living. Since most of us can predict with reasonable accuracy what temptations we will face over the course of our day, we can use the non-tempting times to prepare for those times when temptation strikes. By adequately preparing for temptation, we will be ready to do what we know is right. God will make sure we are victorious, but we must enter the battle prepared for the fight. So, to promote the sanctifying process in your life, make it your goal to prepare ahead of time for the trials and temptations which are sure to come your way.

(Note: I Corinthians 9:24-27)

12: Pray for Wisdom

God gave Solomon permission to ask for anything he wanted. Solomon asked for wisdom so he could rule Israel in a manner that fulfilled

God’s purposes for His people. Like a parent pleased with his child’s request, God gave Solomon the wisdom he asked for, and more. God says He will do the same for us.

God gives us the freedom to ask for wisdom whenever we think we need it. Of course, this means it is our responsibility to see our need and then go to the source of wisdom. We must ask before we can receive. God wants us to take full advantage of this gift, but He wants us to see its necessity in our lives first. Knowing our need for His wisdom is a giant step in the direction of godliness. Knowing our need for His wisdom and then using it to accomplish His purposes is a giant step in the direction of Christian maturity. Therefore, as you see the need for wisdom, pray for wisdom. God will give you all the wisdom you ask for.

So do not take lightly your responsibility to go to God for wisdom. If you are like me, you will need it for understanding the Bible, understanding yourself, understanding others, developing godly character, seeking the good of others, and telling others how to come to faith in God. Therefore, to promote the sanctifying process in your life, make it your goal to ask God, often, for wisdom. (Note: James 1:5)

13: Search the Scriptures

God provided the Holy Scriptures for our use. They show us the character of

God, and make evident the love of God. They teach us what God will do for us. They teach us what is right, and how to do what is right. They reprove and correct us when we get off the path and do what we know is wrong. They provide examples of how to love God supremely and seek the good of everyone affected by our choices and behavior. If we read the

Bible, study it, and meditate on it, it will do us great good.

However, if the Bible is to help us, we must dig into it and thoughtfully consider what it says. Therefore, it is our responsibility to make the time necessary to study what God says to us through His

Word. It is our responsibility to ask God’s Holy Spirit to guide us into truth as we study the Bible. It is our responsibility to seek out those who are more mature and wiser, so we can learn what they have learned from God’s Word. It is our responsibility to use good books to give direction in our study and explanation of what we are studying. Truly, if the Bible is to lead us in the way of godliness, we must open it, open ourselves to it, and then apply what it says to the way we live.

So do not take lightly your responsibility to search the scriptures. Any serious, God-inspired study will help you grow in your understanding of

God and in your discernment of how God wants you to live. Therefore, to promote the sanctifying process in your life, make it your goal to regularly read, study, and meditate on God’s Word. (Note: II

Timothy 3:16; I Peter 2:2)

14: Use Your Time Wisely

Be careful how you use your time so that you do not waste the time you have. We have twenty-four hours in our day, three hundred and sixty-five days in a year, and only so many years to become what God has saved us to be. And just as important, we have very little time to do our part in fulfilling God’s purposes in our world. How we use our hours, days, and years says a lot about what is important to us. If we choose to use our time wisely, we can make the most of

God’s work in us and with us to sanctify us and use us to accomplish His will in our world.

God wants you to use your time wisely for the sake of everyone affected in any way by your choices and behavior. Those whom you are hurting with your sinfulness want you to use your time wisely so as to bring a reasonably quick end to your hurtful behavior. Your family wants you to use your time wisely so you can give them the attention and affection they need. In addition, evangelistic fervor calls you to use your time wisely for the sake of bringing unbelievers to faith in God. But only you can decide how you will use your time. God will not decide this matter for you. God and others may decide your circumstances, but only you decide how you will use your time in whatever circumstances you are in. So do not take lightly your responsibility to use what time you have as wisely as possible. Indeed, to promote the sanctifying process in your life, make it your goal to use your time effectively and efficiently so as to get the most out of God’s sanctifying process. (Note: Ephesians 5:15-16)

15: Resist Sinners When They Sin

Make it your goal to not participate in the sinful practices of those around you. Instead, expose sin for what it is. Show the sinner how his self-centeredness hurts himself and unjustly harms others. This will help protect you from the ever-invasive tentacles of sin.

To join with sinners in their sinning, for whatever reason (fear of rejection, pressure to conform, not wanting to lose our job, thoughtlessness), re-opens us to sin’s influence and feeds our self-centeredness. We cannot do this without letting the devil get his foot in the door of our lives — a foothold that weakens our determination to do away with all sin. But there’s more. To overlook or act as if we are tolerant of the sinful behavior of others makes us a party to the harmful effects of a sinner’s sin on others. In this way we weaken our commitment to love, especially our commitment to love others as we want to be loved.

Therefore, do not take lightly your responsibility to resist sinners when they sin. It is your responsibility to choose friends and associates who will help you grow in godliness, not tempt you or pull you into sin. It is your responsibility to say no to sinners who want to sin, even if you lose your job or your friends or your life. To promote the sanctifying process in your life, make it your goal to resist sinners in their attempts to sin. (Note: Matthew 18:15-17;

Romans 16:17-18; I Corinthians 5:9-13, 15:33; Ephesians 5:11; Titus

3:10)

16: Do Not Return to the Practice of Sin

Do not let the accumulative and addictive power of sin enslave you again.

God has done all that is necessary to free you from sin’s influence and practice. Now it is up to you to act in a manner which protects the freedom He has given you. Therefore, consistently do what you know to do. And, add the following eight sin-deflectors to your daily “to-do” list. These eight sin-deflectors will work miracles in keeping you from returning to the practice of any known sin. (Note: Romans 6:12)

A.

Resist the devil. Try following Jesus’ example of resisting the devil as recorded in Luke 4:1-13. He quoted scripture to put an end to each temptation.

So, memorize scripture verses pertinent to the temptations you expect.

In this way, they will be on your mind and ready for use. When you are tempted, quote them, and the devil will have to flee. Can you think of a better way to remain faithful to doing what you know is right? Truly, this provides God-empowered, life-long protection from returning to your old sinful ways. (Note: James 4:7; I Peter 5:8-9)

B.

Do not give the devil an opportunity to regain his former influence in your life. Watch out for the little sins, the around-the-house sins, the sins you think are acceptable because everyone is doing them, and the sins you feel you must commit to remain emotionally or financially secure. Any sin, willfully committed and justified or casually confessed, lets the devil get his foot in the door. Once his foot is in, he’ll do everything in his power to move back in. Say no to sin before it gets started. If you sin, humbly and thoroughly make everything right with whomever you have wronged by your sin. Keep the devil out, foot and all. (Note: Ephesians

4:27)

C.

Do not get involved in anything that stimulates your selfish and lustful desires, impulses, and passions. Stimulating such things in wrong ways makes it far more difficult to say no to temptation. Be careful what you allow yourself to look at, listen to, think about, and get involved in. What starts innocently, in these matters, can easily end in sin. (Note: Romans 13:14)

D.

Flee immorality. To decrease the power of sensual temptation, stay as far away as possible from those things which stimulate sinful sexual urges. This requires admitting what attracts you and discerning what you need to do to avoid it. It takes planning and preparation, thought and effort. It demands distance, as much as possible, as opposed to getting as close as possible while trying not to sin. (Note: I Corinthians 6:18; I Thessalonians 4:3-7;

Hebrews 13:4)

E.

Flee youthful lusts. Youth is filled with many desires which distract us from what we ought to be doing and/or lead us directly into sin. Curiosity is often an excessive drive that gets young people in trouble. See your youthful desires and drives for what they are. Then, do what is necessary to run from any of these excessive desires and drives when they come knocking on the door of your life.  (Note: 2 Timothy 2:22; 1 Peter 2:11)

F.

Flee from idolatry. For many of us modern day Christians, idol worship seems as remote or as distant as the Roman Empire. However, God points out that greed is idolatry. Money can become your god. In fact, an idol is anything that displaces or replaces God as what you trust in to promote and protect your well-being. So flee every form of idolatry. (Note: 1

Corinthians 10:14; Colossians 3:5; Matthew 6:19-24; 1 Timothy 6:17-19)

G.

Flee the love of money. Flee the love of what money can buy, be it power, possessions, popularity, pleasures of every kind, luxury, or financial security. Money is a tool whose most important use should be that of meeting your needs and helping you love your neighbor as yourself, especially those neighbors who are less fortunate than you. (Note: I Timothy 6:9-10; Hebrews 13:5-6)

H.

Do whatever is necessary to remove the sin which holds such an attraction to you that you are easily seduced by it. Each of us has a favorite sin. Mine may be abhorrent to you, which means my favorite sin might never be your favorite sin. But that does not mean you don’t have a favorite sin, too. Our favorite sin is often the hardest to get rid of. Identify it. Be honest about it. Then make sure you do everything necessary to kick it out and keep it out of your life. (Note: Hebrews 12:1)

17: Regularly Examine Yourself

Personal integrity seems to be a lost art. It is a forsaken quality and a neglected ingredient in the pursuit of godliness. Don’t forsake it, or neglect it. Develop it.

God knows what is in your heart. He knows what you are doing and why. Yet

He has given you the responsibility to examine yourself. You are to assess your own behavior to see if it is consistent with what you say you believe, or if you are at least doing what you know is right. You are to look honestly at yourself and determine if you are making commendable progress in the sanctifying process. You are to discern what must be strengthened and what should be changed to continue making good progress.  You can ask God to search your heart and reveal to you what He sees. But even that begins with you taking it upon yourself to ask (Psalm 139:23-24). Self-examination is your responsibility.

And so, do not take lightly your responsibility to regularly examine yourself. Ask yourself tough questions. Take a careful look to see if you are participating in any known sin. Put yourself in others’ shoes and see how your behavior is affecting them.

Ask others how they see you, or what they see in you that they think needs to be corrected. See what your repetitive choices and behavior say about who or what you love the most. Check your motives. See if your efforts to change are equal to your need to change. If you neglect self-examination, you have no one but yourself to blame for a less than adequate effort in cooperating with God’s sanctifying process. Therefore, to promote the sanctifying process in your life, make it your goal to examine yourself regularly. (Note:

I Corinthians 11:31-32; II Corinthians 13:5; Galatians 6:4)

18: Persevere to the End

Persevere to the end. Do not give up, even if you feel exhausted from the battle. Do not quit, even if you are discouraged and wondering if victory is possible. Do not slow down in your pursuit of God and His righteousness, even if you think you have changed enough. If you quit after winning only a partial victory, you will do just as the

Israelites did in the Promised Land: you will return to the practice of known sin.

The goal of sanctification is to destroy sin — all sin — in your life. The key to the destruction of sin in you is to persevere in the process of sanctification until death removes you from this life, or until Jesus returns. So make the hard choices, the easy choices, and the necessary choices to persevere to the end. If you do, you are being sanctified. (Judges 1:27-2:13;

Matthew 24:12-13; Hebrews 12:2-13)

Four Suggestions for Progress

1: Think Seriously and Deeply

Thinking seriously and deeply about God, the purposes of God, why right is right and wrong is wrong, why we do what we do, how our behavior affects others, and what our part is in the process of sanctification does not seem to come naturally. And sadly, many preachers, Bible teachers, church leaders, and parents want to tell us what to do without teaching us how to think so we can understand why right is right and wrong is wrong.

Of course, knowing what to do is vital. But understanding the why is equally vital. It opens the door to doing what is right from conviction rather than obligation. It makes it possible to apply godly principles to new situations. And it improves our ability to help others understand the truth by which we choose to live.

However, if you are to be a thinking Christian seeking to understand the what and the why, you must work at it. You may have to work at it on your own because so few want to think this seriously and deeply.

Don’t let that deter you. God is resource enough should there be no one else to help you.

To develop the art of serious thinking, try these suggestions. Begin by regularly (daily) asking God to teach you how to be a thinking Christian. Make it clear you want to know as much about the what and why of Christianity as is humanly possible. Keep asking until you are convinced He has answered your prayer. At the same time, seek out thinking people and ask them to teach you how to be more thoughtful. Refuse to settle for shallow answers, undefined generalizations, spiritual clichés, circular reasoning, and speculation treated as fact. Avoid exaggerations and extremism. Read the Bible with a dictionary close at hand. Look up words you vaguely understand to gain a clearer, larger, more personally applicable understanding. Think about why God says to do certain things and why He says not to do other things. Ask those who tell you what to do to explain in plain, understandable terms why they believe it is the right thing to do. Test every what and why against the principle of love.

Find out if it seeks the good of everyone affected when put into practice. Look carefully at the short and long-term consequences of people’s choices and behavior — especially your own. Look at your life as a whole and see how your choices help or hinder your growth to Christian maturity.

Practice thinking this deeply and you will become a more serious thinker. Use this kind of thinking in your pursuit of God and it will help you make progress in becoming what God saved you to be. There is no shame in not knowing as much as others know. The shame comes from not using, to its created potential, the mind God has so graciously given to you.

2. Pray Wisely, Pray Persistently

Prayer is an essential part of growing to Christian maturity. We should develop a prayer life which makes God an indispensable father and integral partner in our sanctifying process. We need His participation to be sanctified. And we need to be keenly aware of His participatory presence if we are to consistently rely on Him in the process and go hand-in-hand with Him through the process. Therefore, we are wise to pray thoughtfully and frequently, for this depth of reliance and companionship is best nurtured through prayer. (Note: Hebrews 4:16)

Praying wisely includes being careful that we do not contradict our prayers by our choices and behavior. It is easy to ask God for help in the sanctification process, and then proceed to live in a way that works against the help He gives. There have been times when I asked God to work in me to bring about needed changes only to discover days or weeks later that I didn’t really want to change. I liked my sin and the benefits it brought me. So even though I was praying for God to help me change, I was at the same time resisting and sabotaging my prayers by my repeated and sinful choices and behavior.

Upon coming to my senses in each of these cases, it became apparent that I needed to change my prayer, lest I go on contradicting my prayer by my choices and behavior. I needed to tell God my true thoughts and feelings about this area of change. I needed to tell Him that I wanted to change but I didn’t want to change. Then, I needed to ask Him to help me come to the place where I genuinely wanted to change so I could begin cooperating with His process of change. In my experience, persistence in this prayer has always led to a strong enough desire to change to become a cooperative participant in God’s sanctification process.

So, be careful not to contradict your prayers by your choices and behavior. If you see that you are, make this contradiction the focus of prayer until it is settled between you and God. Then you can attack and pray about the issue which needs to be changed to become more like

Jesus.

Praying persistently is essential, too. Persistence is our way of staying with an issue until it is settled between God and us. It is our way of letting God know we mean business, that the matter we are placing before Him is as vital to us as life itself. How easy it is to pray seriously about a serious matter one moment and then get so embroiled in the affairs of life that we forget what seemed so important just moments, days, weeks, or months before. If we wish God to believe a matter is important, and indeed, if it is truly important to us, we had better persist in prayer until the matter is settled between God and us. In relation to sanctification this often means praying about character, thought, habit, and emotional changes for six months to a year, for such changes take time and repeated effort.

Praying wisely leads to asking for what really matters. The Scriptures give us some great prayers and prayer requests to use as helps in deciding what we should pray for in relation to God’s sanctifying process. Below are a few of these scriptures for your consideration and encouragement.

Exodus

33:12b-13a, 18

Moses said to the Lord, “. . .You have said, ‘I have known you by name and you have also found favor in My sight.’ Now, if I have found favor in Your sight, teach me all of Your ways that I may know You personally and intimately, and so that I may please You in all that I do. … Then Moses said,

“I beg of You, show me Your glory!”

Ephesians

1:15, 17-19a

Having heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus, and your love for all the saints, (17) I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the ability and desire to soak up the wisdom of Christ and comprehend all that His life reveals so that you can know Him fully.

(18) I pray that your mind and heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the purpose for which Christ has called you, the richness of the glory He receives as we live for Him, (19) and the surpassing greatness of the power He makes available to everyone who believes in

Him.

Philippians

1:9-10

I pray that your love may flourish and increase still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may identify and cherish the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ.

Colossians

1:9-12a

We continually pray for you, asking God to fill you with the knowledge of

His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may live in a manner which brings due honor and glory to our Lord, which pleases Him in all respects, which brings forth fruit in every good work, and which causes you to keep growing in your knowledge of

Him. We pray that you will be strengthened with all power, according to

God’s unsurpassed power, so that you will be faithful and patient in your Christian life; joyfully giving thanks to the Father in everything.

I

Thessalonians 3:12-13

May the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people everywhere, just as we love you; so that He may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His followers.

3: Get Help When You Need It

If you need help or counsel, seek it until you find the help that meets your need. Refuse to let shame or an inadequate helper keep you from getting the help you need. Discipleship is God’s idea. It is one of God’s provisions for making progress in the process of sanctification. So when you need it, look for competent help and counsel until you find it. And as you look, ask God to lead you to people who can answer your questions, teach you the truth, and show you how to apply truth in the most practical ways possible.

4: Have a Plan and Work Your Plan

It is important to know where you are going. It is equally important to know how you are going to get there. Planning and preparation require organization. Organization requires methods. To help those who do not know where to start in their planning and preparations, I offer a method that has been a great help to me. Take this as a suggestion of what to do, not as the only method available. You need to test it to make sure it works for you. If it doesn’t work for you, modify it or look for another method that does. But be wise! Make your plans. Prepare at a level equal to the task before you. Then, when you go into battle, you will have a plan, you will be dressed in battle gear, and you will be ready for whatever the enemy throws at you.

Daily Preparation

1.

Identify a thought pattern, habit, or behavior that you know is wrong and needs to be changed. Determine when and how you are most often tempted to do this thing you know is wrong. Then, write a concise statement about the wrong you want to change and the most common way(s) you are tempted to do it.

2. | Consider the consequences:

A.

Examine the short-term consequences of yielding to the temptation. Look at the consequences on yourself and anyone else affected by doing this thing you know is wrong. To identify the destructive consequences, look for ways in which the wrong directly harms others and/or damages your relationship with them — including God. Look for ways in which this wrong harms you and sets you up for more problems. To identify the self-gratifying consequences, look for ways in which this thing gratifies any selfish interests or desire, thus benefiting you in some, though certainly a wrong, way.

B.

Examine the long-term consequences (one month, one year, five years) of yielding to the temptation.

Look at the consequences on yourself and anyone else affected by doing this thing you know is wrong. Identify the self-serving benefits, the harm done to others and to your relationship with them (be sure to include God), and its destructive effects in your life.

C.

Examine the short-term consequences of saying no to the temptation. Identify one or more ways in which doing what’s right seems to cost you, especially at first. Look for ways in which doing what is right directly promotes, or at least protects, the good of others (including God) and your relationship with them. Look for ways in which doing right minimizes future problems.

D.

Examine the long-term consequences (one month, one year, five years) of saying no to the temptation.

Don’t be surprised if there are some long-term costs. Not everyone will praise you for doing what is right. So identify possible costs, too. Identify the benefits to others, how it should improve your relationship with them (including God), and how it makes you a better person, thus enabling you to better love others as yourself.

3. | Use the Scriptures:
| A. | Look for a verse(s) from God’s Word which speaks about the wrong you have identified in number one.
| B. | Seek to understand what God’s Word says you ought to be doing in place of the wrong you have been doing.

C.

Pick a verse that will help you resist the wrong and do what is right when tempted. Write it out. Memorize it. Meditate on it. Then use it!

4.

Daily preparation must be done during non-testing times. This is best done when you are alone. You can set quiet time aside for this or use times when your task allows for thinking about other things, such as when driving alone, shaving, brushing teeth, showering, doing laundry or dishes, etc.

A.

In an attitude of prayer, tell God what it is you want changed. Ask for increased sensitivity to the problem so that you not only see when it is happening, but you see it coming. Ask for wisdom to deal with every facet of it. Remind God you are depending on His empowerment and provision to be successful. Remind Him that you want to do this for His honor and glory in the world, and for the well-being of everyone affected by your choices and behavior.

B.

In an attitude of prayer, review with God all the consequences listed in number two. Use this information to reinforce how foolish and destructive sin is, and how good, God-honoring, and relationship-building it is to do what you know is right.

C.

In an attitude of prayer, review with God what He says in His Word about this area of needed change. Affirm your commitment to do what He says. Review how you will use your chosen scripture verse to help you resist temptation and redirect your thoughts toward doing what you know is right.

D.

In an attitude of prayer, look ahead and determine the most likely times during the day when you will be tempted in regards to number one. Ask God to help you be more sensitive to those times so they do not catch you unaware. Then rehearse (in your mind)

facing the temptation, resisting it, and making the godly choice.

E.

In an attitude of prayer, look back to the last time you were tested in this area. If you failed the test, review the situation. Think about how you might have handled it better. Then picture yourself going through that situation again and handling it right. Use this practice as one means of preparing to handle testing in the future.

5. | What to do when you sin:

A.

Be humble enough to acknowledge your sin without making any excuse or explanation. Be sincere enough to make right whatever wrong you have done to anyone, beginning with God.

B.

Do not give in to discouragement or false guilt.

Wallowing in despair helps no one. Use your energy to get back on track and make more progress in overcoming the sin. In time, doing the right thing will become a habit that replaces your old, sinful practice.

C.

Perfection is what we are aiming for — but remember, progress, equal to the need, is the best we will do in this life. Be realistic. Sanctification is a process that depends on consistent, accumulative progress to achieve its goal. So aim for perfection, but be content with consistent, measurable, God-honoring progress.

In Summary

Self-centeredness, evil thoughts, sinful habits, irrational fears, fueled passions, and foolish behavior die hard. You cannot kill them off without God’s help. Use all He provides. This includes the idea of accountability. Seek help from a trusted friend, family member, fellow church attender, counselor, or your minister. Reveal your problem and what you are doing to change it. Ask for prayer and accountability. This means asking the person to join you in praying for change and in making regular checks to see if you are following through in doing what you must to make commendable progress. On those days you would rather sin, or give up the fight, they can offer support, encouragement, advice, and admonition. When you fail, they can help you get back on track. This may be embarrassing, yet the cost of embarrassment is nothing compared to the gain of becoming all that God has called you to be in Christ Jesus.

It is never a question of God wanting to sanctify us or being able to sanctify us. It is always a question of our wanting to be sanctified, and then validating our wanting by entering the process and doing our part. Have you entered the process of sanctification? Are you doing your part?

There is no easy way, no shortcut, no magic wand to sanctification. It requires work — hard work. It requires perseverance — to the end. It requires taking personal responsibility for what you are and what you can be. God has done His part. Will you do yours? If you will, you will be sanctified, completely.

No

Other Foundation
Book 2
Needful Truths for

Children of Light

Chapter Eight
God's Love

On that ominous day in the garden of Eden the serpent presented himself as an innocently curious questioner. But each question was crafted to strike an imperceptive yet deadly blow at the trustworthiness of God.

In just a few moments, with just a few questions, he convinced Eve to see God as unworthy. The next thing she did was predictable. In fact, it was so predictable the serpent had designed his entire battle plan around it. In response to her new-found distrust of God, Eve chose to depart from God’s way of love and go her own way of self-interest.

Since that day, the devil has done the same with every one of us. Because he knows selfishness is our first and foremost response when we think God is untrustworthy, he works hard at convincing us God is unworthy of our trust. And convince us he does. We have all chosen to depart from

God’s way of love to go our own way of self-interest because we have presumed God to be untrustworthy.

Learn this truth. Distrust of God in any amount or to any degree is the primary driver behind our unwillingness to love Him supremely. It is the driving force behind our self-centeredness. It is our excuse for our love affair with sin.

God confronted this lie about His character, and He continues to confront it. His costliest effort in confronting this lie was when He sent His only son, Jesus, to the cross to take our place in paying the penalty for our sin. His most prolonged effort is found in His patient waiting while we decide if we want to repent of our sin, trust in Him, and be reconciled to Him. Like the father longingly waited for the prodigal son to come home, God longingly waits for us to repent and return to Him so the broken relationship between us can be restored. He passionately desires to be loved by us, and He wants to share a mutually loving relationship with us, forevermore.

However, many still question - indeed out and out doubt God's love for them. To them,

God’s love is mostly a theory, a theological construct, a teaching about God which came from God – and they’re not so sure they can believe it completely. In fact, their view of their life experience seems to offer enough contradictions to the ‘God is love’ theology that they’re not even sure they want to believe it completely, or even at all. So what can we do to see if

God’s love is enough to subdue our heart, capture our mind, and give us reason enough to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength? We can take a look at how God loves.

The Bible says God is love. When it says that God is love, it does not mean that His nature or essence is love. If God, by His nature was love, He could do nothing but love us.  His love would never be an act of His will, for it would be involuntary. He would be like an animal unable to do anything other than what His inborn love instinct drives Him to do. In other words, He would have no control or choice over whether He loved us or not.

Such involuntary behavior would never be mistaken for love for long by anyone who knew Him intimately. For you see, love is only love when it is an act of the will – when it is a free, cheerfully intentional choice on the part of the lover to seek the good of the one being loved. And love is only love when it has within its fabric a deeply felt desire for relationship so that it does all that love can do to make shared relationships of love and trust possible with whomever possible.

Therefore, loving type deeds done from a sense of obligation, or from a feeling of duty, or for the hope of reward, or in an effort to appease, or out of fear of retribution can never satisfy the receiver’s longing to be loved. They may make him feel good for a while, but in time the loveless motivation behind the deeds will strip the deeds of their ability to satisfy. Why? Because the most loving deeds done from a motive other than love can never be anything other than the fruit of selfishness.

And, the selfishness of others can never satisfy our fervent desire to be loved.

So, what will satisfy our deep longing to be loved? Being loved by someone who of his own free-will wants to love us because we are precious to him. It is only when the one who loves us is free to not love us yet does love us because he values us enough to care about us that we feel loved, important, wanted, cherished, or adored.

It is the freedom to not love which gives believability to love when someone adores us enough to love us. Therefore, true love, the kind that convinces us we are loved, the kind that can make relationships everything they are intended to be, must come from an act of the will. It must be voluntary. It must be freely given. And, it must have the power and liberty to do otherwise.

This same principle is true for the love which God has for us. We have no rational reason to believe

God really loves us unless He has a choice in the matter. And He does.

He has the power and the freedom to not love us. And it is His power and freedom to not love which makes His love for us so real – especially given all the reasons we give Him to not love us.

Therefore, we know God loves us because He has of His own free-will chosen to love us. He voluntarily and cheerfully (as opposed to grudgingly and of necessity)

seeks our good in all things. And the fact that He cherishes and adores us is validated by His tender pursuit of a mutual relationship with us

– a relationship where we each voluntarily and cheerfully seek the other’s good.

Therefore, when the Bible says

God is love, it means He wants to love us enough to make a voluntary choice and a deliberate decision to promote and protect our good in everything He does which in any way affects us. Now because He is God,

He loves perfectly. His love is so pure, so consistent, so faithful, so comprehensive, and so complete that it seems as if He can do nothing but love – and yet His love is a choice.

When the Bible says God is love, it means He is so committed to the principle of love that He would not, under any circumstances, do anything other than what is loving. No one need convince Him of the irrationality and irresponsibility of doing anything other than what is best for everyone affected in any way by everything He says and does. He is convinced already. He is so convinced about the value of love and so committed to the practice of love that He won’t do anything other than love.

When the Bible says God is love, it means He is, by His own choosing, supremely devoted to seeking and securing the good of all. No one is loved more than another, and no one is loved less. His devotion to the well-being of everyone is so great that He will never do anything for anyone which in the doing harms someone else.

We see the truth of this in the fact that God sustains life for the sinner and righteous person alike, for the scripture says that God makes the sun shine and rain fall on the sinner and righteous person alike. God turns the planted seed into a plant to be harvested for the sinner and the righteous person alike. God makes the body rejuvenate and heal itself for the sinner and the righteous person alike. God empowers the mind with the ability to reason and think for the sinner and righteous person alike.

God is good to all because He loves us all.

It would seem, though, that He loves those who love Him more than He loves those who don’t. But think for a minute. Doesn’t the rebellious child say the same thing about his parent’s treatment of his obedient brothers and sisters? Is it that his parents love him less and the other children more? No! The rebellious child seems to be loved less because he cannot be trusted with the same privileges and benefits his parents bestow on the other children. If they are good parents, their hearts will be breaking over not being able to bestow those same privileges and benefits on the rebellious child. But they hold back because he will abuse the privileges and misuse the benefits to his own hurt and the harm of others.

Good parents love each of their children even though they do differently for the rebellious child as compared to what they do for the other children. But are they really doing differently? No! They are doing the same for all their children.

They are seeking the good of each child with loving consideration for how their treatment of each child will affect the good of the others.

The same holds true in God’s dealings with us.

But the Bible says:

“And we know that God works in everything to bring good out of everything for those who love Him and live according to His will.” Doesn’t this prove favoritism? Once again, the answer is no. God wants to do this for all, but only those who through faith in Him patiently wait for Him to work things out for their good are able to receive this gracious gift from God.

Let me explain. When life isn’t going the way we think it should or when trials and tribulation come our way, some of us stop believing God works all things out for good, and in so doing, we take matters into our own hands and do what we think best to improve our life, secure our well-being, or get relief from the troubles of the day.

However, when we take matters into our own hands, we inevitably step outside the boundaries of godliness and love into territory where the only available options are selfish options and the only solutions are sinful solutions. And though these options and solutions may seem inviting for the moment, in the end they create more problems than the ones we are trying to solve.

Thus, what appears to the selfish, fearful, or despairing eye to be a good option or solution is really a temporary fix loaded with more problems for ourselves and others.

To consistently experience God bringing good out of bad circumstances, we must trust Him, remain within His boundaries of godliness whatever the circumstances or cost, and patiently wait for Him to do whatever has to be done to bring about good. If we will trust, obey, and remain patient, He will work out a solution with no immediate or future problems that can harm us or anyone else affected by the solution. (Note: Romans 8:28)

There is an additional truth here that must be addressed. God’s love for you is never expressed in any way which unjustly or unnecessarily harms you or anyone effected by His love for you, and that includes unbelievers.

Therefore, it may sometimes seem like sin is winning and God is losing. It may sometimes seem like sinners are getting the advantages while Christians are suffering loss. It may even seem, sometimes, that

God stands aside while evil people force undue pain, suffering, and even death on His children. However, God always seeks the good of all who are affected in any way by everything He does.

What appears as

God’s failure to protect the righteous from the sinful ways of sinners is really God being patient with those who are selfishly sinful. And who hasn’t been selfishly sinful? Who hasn’t

God been patient with?

God is patient because He wants to give ample opportunity to every sinner to come to repentance. He wants every sinner to voluntarily turn from selfishness and sin to a life devoted to love and godliness so that He does not have to banish them. He does not want to send anyone to hell. Think about it this way

– when our life on earth comes to an end the opportunity for repentance comes to an end. Because this is the only life-time any of us has to repent, God holds back on His judgment during this life in an effort to give each of us the greatest possible opportunity to repent and be saved from eternal damnation. (Note: II Peter 3:9)

As long as God graciously gives sinners time to repent there will be unnecessary suffering and destruction in the world. If you are a Christian, remember that He gave you time to repent. While He waited, you continued to be self-centered.

You continued to practice sin at the expense and to the hurt of others.

You can be certain they did not want to endure any unnecessary suffering and pain just so you could have time to come to your senses and repent. Yet they did, and God allowed it for your sake.

If God were to act quickly in protecting others from the effects of your self-centeredness, He would have to end your life once you began knowingly doing what you knew was wrong. Patient waiting would not be an option if God were to stop your sinfulness after your first or second, or even your tenth or twentieth sin. Ending your life would be His only reasonable solution.

Yet if He had ended your life, He would also have ended your opportunity to repent. I am sure you are thankful He didn’t do that, for if He had you would be spending eternity in hell.

The patience God had with you He has with others. And though you may not have thought about this in this way, it is probable you are thankful for His patience because it gave you time to come to repentance and saving faith in Jesus

Christ. Admittedly, it seems harder to appreciate God’s patience with others when it means unnecessary suffering and pain for you. Yet even God endured some or even much suffering as a result of your sin while He patiently waited for you to repent. Therefore, He is only asking you to do for others what He has done for you – and in this way, love as you have been loved.

If you will love God and others in this way, you will see the unnecessary suffering and destruction caused by unrepentant sinners in a different light. It won’t make the unjust suffering inflicted on you enjoyable, but it will promote gratitude in you that God is extending the same grace to them that He extended to you.

When the Bible says God is love, it does not mean that He can be moved to give us whatever we want. To do that would be like spoiling a child. Spoiling children by giving them whatever they want creates self-centered monsters. They don’t get better because they get what they want – they get worse. The more they get, the more they want. The more their demands are satisfied, the more self-centered they become until they’ll treat whomever in whatever kind or cruel ways they must to get more of what they want. The same is true for adults.

God loves us, and that is an undisputable fact. His love is devoted to seeking our good.

It is also devoted to seeking the good of everyone affected by what He gives us and how we use what He gives us. He wants to bless us with every good thing, but He won’t spoil us. He won’t feed our self-centeredness. He will not give us what we want if what we want impedes our progress in sanctification and growth toward spiritual maturity. Therefore, God gives us what we need. He gives us those things which have the greatest potential of bringing us to godly maturity while at the same time satisfying our physical needs.

When the Bible says God is love and that He loves sinners, it does not mean that He is approving or tolerant of their sinful behavior. God abhors all sin, all selfishness, all pride. These evils needlessly destroy people and relationships. They are the cause of all the suffering in our world, and whatever immediate benefits come from such evils, they always leave suffering victims in their wake. His love, especially the patience part of His love, should never be confused with tolerance. God never approves of sin.

When the Bible says God is love and that He loves sinners, it does not mean that He delights in them or feels endeared to them while they are in their sinful condition. He wants them to repent. He longs to share in a relationship with them. And though He blesses sinners with a stable world, four seasons, ground that receives seed and produces food, and many other needful things, don’t ever think He delights in anyone who is intentionally or perpetually harming others for the sake of personal gain. Don’t ever think God feels endeared to someone who willfully rebels against Him and selfishly hurts those He loves. These are not endearing behaviors. They are offensive behaviors. They are alienating behaviors. They stir God’s wrath and drive His discipline or punishment. Therefore, though it remains true that God loves sinners, He does not delight in them or feel endeared to them when they are deliberately continuing on in their sin.

When the Bible says

God is love, it means He has done everything He can reasonably do to gain our confidence and our trust. In love, He has revealed Himself to us through nature, the Bible, and in Jesus. In love, He died for our sins in order to free us from the penalty, power, and practice of sin so we can live forever in a love relationship with Him and all who love as He loves. In love, He becomes our provider and protector so that we are able to safely make the pursuit of His kingdom and His righteousness our primary pursuit. In love, He disciplines us when we sin and thwarts our selfish/sinful efforts in order to bring us to our senses in hopes we will repent and pursue true love. In love, He will ultimately banish the unrepentant sinners (to hell) in order to protect those who have repented and are living as He created them to live (new heavens and new earth).

When God commands us to love Him supremely, He is not acting as an insecure ruler who seeks to satisfy his need for acceptance. He is not acting as an egotist who must be adored to feel good about himself. He is acting as a loving father who knows we need to love Him supremely in order to live life to the fullest, that is, a righteous life free from all sin.

When He asks us to obey Him, He is not acting as a demanding boss who is only happy when he is in control. He is acting as a loving father who knows His ways are the only path to a life filled with true joy, lasting security, genuine pleasure, loving relationships, and every other good thing. When He asks us to love our neighbor as ourselves, He is not trying to benefit them at our expense. He is trying to protect the good of all mankind, including us. When He disciplines us, He is not acting as an angry God who wants to punish us for disobedience. He is acting as a loving father who wants to steer us in the right direction for our own good and the good of everyone affected by what we do.

God always has our best interests in mind. He is always seeking and working for our good.

This is why He is not to be feared, but revered and loved. The Bible says there is no fear in love because perfect love removes all fear. We never have to fear that God will do anything less than what is best for us no matter how He feels about what we are doing. We never have to fear that God will stop wanting relationship with us even when we are driving Him away or running from Him by our behavior. We never have to fear being too bad, undesirable, or beyond God’s love, because there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Therefore, if we have sinned or have been living in sin, we have only to repent and place our faith in God to immediately find out just how much He loves us and wants us to love Him.

God is love. Those who know Him have been captured by His love. They have come to see that

God’s love is perfect, pure, trustworthy – in fact all they could ever hope love to be. Their day-to-day experiences convince them

God loves them. When they look back over time, they see how safe they have been in God’s love so that they confidently trust Him for whatever lies ahead.

Do you see how reasonable, just, and complete God’s love is? Do you see how safe you are in

His love? Contemplate God's love and let His love capture your heart.

No

Other Foundation
Book 2
Needful

Truths for

Children of Light

Chapter

Nine
Christian Love

Chapter contents

- Christian Love

- The

Christian’s Love for God

- Manifestations of

Christian Love

- Love Is Enhanced by but Not the Result of Feelings

- Love Is Selfless
- Love Is Practical
- Love Is Sensible

- Love Willingly

Bears the Cross

- Love Is Frugal

- Love Is

Compassionate
- Love Is Just
- Love Is Unbiased

- Love Courageously and Uncompromisingly Opposes Sin

- Love Disciplines

Those Who Need It

- Love Is Gracious

- Love Finds Ways To

Express Itself
- Love Never Fails
- In Summary

Christian Love

According to the Word of God, to love is to seek the good of others in the same manner and to the same degree you want others to seek your good (Mark 12:31;

Matthew 7:12).

Love does no wrong to anyone, including your enemies, those who persecute you, and those who mistreat you (Romans 13:10; Luke 6:35; Romans

12:14,17,19-21).

Love has its own observable characteristics (1Corinthians 13:4-8).

Husbands are to love their wives (Ephesians 5:25). Older women are to teach and encourage the younger women to love their husbands (Titus 2:3-4). And finally, love comes from God (1 John 4:7).

Though these scriptures say it well, we often need more information and further explanation before we comprehend the far-reaching implications of love.

Therefore, to enlarge our understanding and make these simple truths as practical as possible, love will be defined and explained.

To love is to voluntarily, intentionally, eagerly, faithfully, and heartily promote and protect the interests and well-being of another person

– which includes everyone who is in any way effected by your choices and behavior. To gain a fuller understanding of this definition, consider the dictionary explanation of each descriptive word it contains.

To love is to voluntarily (of our own free-will), intentionally (following a preplanned course of action to accomplish a desired end), eagerly (acting from a heart-felt sense of zeal), faithfully (remaining conscientiously and unwaveringly steadfast in a chosen course of action), and heartily (genuine feelings of warm regard for the recipient of our actions and feelings of happiness at being able to seek his good) promote

(advance, champion, encourage) and protect (guard, maintain, preserve) the interests (concerns) and well-being (welfare, needs) of another person – which includes everyone who is in any way effected by our choices and behavior.

This means that love is no accident. It is not, by nature, spontaneous. It is not instinctive. It is not involuntary – as if it were something over which we have little or no control. However, attraction and feelings of endearment can be spontaneous or involuntary, but they are not love even though many call them or mistake them for love.

Love begins, and is either sustained or brought to an end, by an act of our will. We love because we voluntarily and intentionally make the choice to love.

Therefore, free-will and deliberate choice are inherent and essential ingredients of love.

Without freedom of choice, love is nothing more than a theory or an ideal or a noble idea. It is the freedom to not love which makes the choice to

(voluntarily, cheerfully, and deliberately) love so significant and meaningful.

However, freedom of choice not only gives life to love, it gives life to selfishness.

By nature, we are self-centered. Our natural or first choice is to seek the good of self without equal regard for the good of others, or without regard for how our self-seeking affects the good of others. Therefore, the choice to love inherently includes the choice to reject self-centeredness and its child – selfishness.

Deciding what value or importance we will place on our own good when deciding the value or importance we will place on the good of another is a necessary part of the decision to love. Jesus confirmed this when he said, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” In other words, when making the decision to follow Christ we must also make the life-altering decision to deny self and take up our cross. In a similar way, when deciding the extent to which we will seek the good of others, we must also decide the extent to which we will seek the good of ourselves.

Therefore, promoting and protecting the good of others requires an act of the will whereby we thoughtfully and deliberately (1) choose to forsake selfishness and

(2) choose to do what we know is in the best interest of those who are in some way affected by our choices and behavior (Note: Matthew 16:24).

This pattern of deciding about ourselves when deciding about loving others is vital to protecting the reality and the inherent standards of love

(1 Corinthians

13:4-8).

Our choice to selflessly love others when we could as easily choose to selfishly love ourselves communicates that we care about the good of those effected by our choices and behavior as much or even more than we care about ourselves.

This in turn helps others feel wanted, valued, and respected. Therefore, people feel loved, wanted, valued, and respected when they are convinced we willingly care as much about their well-being, happiness, safety, and health as we care about their own.

The freedom to love or not love ensures that where genuine love exists genuine love is experienced. For this reason, God forces no one to act on behalf of the good of others – He instructs and invites. He instructs and invites everyone to repent of their self-centeredness, to change their mind about God and themselves, and to live a life of love – for that is the way to fulfill the two great commandments.

Now it’s true, the two great commandments are commandments to love. It is also true that God rewards those who obey His commandments and He disciplines, punishes, and ultimately banishes to hell those who don’t. This makes it seem as if God is forcing us to live according to His dictates – that He is forcing us to love. Yet He is not.

In relation to love, God’s commandments, rewards, and punishments have two important purposes. First, His commandments and rewards are intended to call our attention to the importance of love so that we will choose to live a life of love. He, more than anyone, knows that deeds of love done grudgingly or out of necessity is fruit born out of selfishness, not love. To force us to live according to the rule of love through fear of punishment, or to motivate us into a life of love through the promise of reward would be to promote self-interest over a selfless regard for the good of others. So, He invites us and calls us and woos us into a life of love. Second, God’s commandments and punishments are intended to deter our self-centeredness and protect those who are adversely and unjustly affected by our selfishness. If the one in authority provides no negative consequences for bad behavior than he is, in effect, giving license to bad behavior. And if the authority does not punish those who repeatedly do what they know is wrong there will be no relief for the victims and no reason for the victims to put their trust in the authority (place their well-being in the hands of God). Therefore, God judiciously protects our freedom to choose love while protecting the victims of our choices when we choose to act selfishly.

Jesus said there is no greater love than to lay down your life for your friends.

In other words, there will be times when we see a need that requires sacrificing our interests and well-being in order to seek the good and promote or protect the needs of someone else. But this is not beyond love, it is simply a greater or more personally costly expression of what love commonly does.

Self-sacrifice is not unique. Yet the personal sacrifice of love is a unique form of self-sacrifice. In the ebb and flow of most relationships the participants make personal sacrifices in order to increase the return on their investment in the relationship, or in something whose outcome is directly affected by the relationship. In other words, at greater cost to themselves they give more in order to get more for themselves. It works like this. At our own expense we give something of importance to enrich the life of another in hopes of receiving what we want from them in return. This is not the self-sacrifice of love, but rather the self-sacrifice of give-to-get.

In contrast, the self-sacrifice of love is made to increase the return on the investment we are making in the well-being of the one we love. This means making a personal sacrifice with the sole hope that it will improve the situation or condition of the one being benefitted by our love. Now it isn’t as if we don’t feel the cost or pain of such a sacrifice. We do, but our suffering is overshadowed by our desire to do good for the one we love and by our joy when what we have done accomplishes its intended purpose.

At the end of the Viet Nam war, Vietnamese parents put their young children on

U.S. planes and helicopters in hopes their children would be taken to the

United States and raised in a better place than their own war-torn,

Communist controlled country. I can’t imagine the pain of saying goodbye to my children knowing that I probably would never see them again. But, I can imagine wanting good for my children to such a degree that I would choose to endure such pain for their benefit.

And so it is with all who love. They place more value on the good of others than on the good of self to the point of willingly and deliberately making personal sacrifices to ensure or enhance the good of those they love.

The apostle Paul wrote that love is to be without hypocrisy.

Therefore, love wisely and reasonably promotes and protects an individual’s or group’s good without compromising the good of any one affected by what is done for the individual or group. This means that we must give careful consideration to how the love we show one person or one group affects those beyond the person or group to whom we are showing love.

Too many misjudge love. They think it is synonymous with making others happy. Thus they lean toward leniency, permissiveness, and indulgence while neglecting impartiality, sound judgment, and the well-being of others affected in some way by what they do for the one(s) they are trying to love. Such behavior has little to do with love and its manifestations.

Love does no harm to anyone (Romans 13:10). To ensure this, love seeks the good of an individual or group within the context of promoting and protecting the good of all. In other words, love never does anything for an individual or group (be it family, friends, co-workers, community, or nation)

that in any way results in unnecessary harm being done to others.

This facet of love establishes clear boundaries for the giver. For example, love does not spoil a child. Spoiling children harms them by ruining their character through overindulgence. But the harm does not stop with the child.

Spoiled children become self-centered teenagers and adults who make other people’s lives unnecessarily miserable. In the same way, love does not look the other way when a child deliberately does what he knows is wrong. Undue leniency and permissiveness sends the message that it is alright to do wrong. When a child gets this message he begins to believe he’s justified in using or abusing others to ensure his own happiness and well-being. He may learn to control his selfishness enough to make reasonable progress in growing up, but he won’t control it enough to stop using and abusing others to get his own way.

For the same reasons, love is not unduly lenient, permissive, or overindulgent with adults. Love will not give an adult the impression it is acceptable to continue doing what is wrong. When an adult pursues his own interests or the interests of his friends or some special interest group at the expense of others, love takes a stand and corrective action in an effort to protect the good of all.

Therefore, love does not look the other way when an adult family member or friend sins. To look the other way is to allow this loved one to jeopardize the good of everyone affected by his sinful behavior. Love will not support a co-worker or boss who chooses to do what is obviously wrong. Nor will love support any of its nation’s policies which benefit or protect some at the wrongful (unlovingly harmful) expense of others.

But there is another way in which we are prone to misjudge love. Many think that the intention to do good for one or some frees them from the obligation to do good for all. Therefore, they feel justified in ignoring the consequences of their actions beyond the scope of their immediate intentions.

A number of years ago, a man who said he believed in the right-to-life shot and killed an abortion doctor and wounded two of his co-workers in front of their abortion clinic. Though done in the name of love for the unborn children whose lives are being sacrificed so parents can go on with their lives unencumbered by an unwanted child, it was not an act of love. Instead, it was an act of self-determined vengeance, of returning evil for evil, of serving one’s own interests at the expense of others. Why? Here are four reasons.

First, the man chose murder as his means of dealing with the problem. He alone decided that the doctor’s life was expendable in his effort to promote the right-to-life of unborn children. I am certain the killer does not want other people unilaterally deciding that his life is expendable in accomplishing their goals. Therefore, he did to the doctor what he does not want done to himself.

Second, in murdering the doctor he ended the doctor’s opportunity to repent and be eternally reconciled to God. Whatever patience God was extending to this doctor in hopes he would repent and be converted was abruptly halted

– and not by

God’s choosing. I am certain this grieved God, for it unnecessarily and unjustly denied Him the possible privilege of having this doctor become a beloved child. Therefore, in murdering the doctor the murderer unjustly harmed

God.

Third, in murdering the doctor he needlessly hurt the doctor’s family. The doctor’s wife unjustly lost her husband. The doctor’s children unjustly lost their father. They all are now denied the pleasure of his presence and the provision of his income. Therefore, in murdering the doctor he wrongfully took a loved one away from those who loved him and a needed one away from those who needed him.

Finally, the murderer publicly reinforced the idea that it is best to take matters into our own hands and use power tactics (some form of verbal or physical violence) when people continue to act contrary to what we want. This influence may not affect the mature, but what about the immature and the unthinking? This man’s example becomes an influence for evil in the lives of everyone who thinks taking matters into their own hands and abusing power is an accepted means of righting wrongs. Therefore, should just one immature, thoughtless person follow this man’s example it will mean more victims and more unjust suffering.

Love does no harm to anyone. Love is committed to seeking the good of others in the same manner and to the same degree it wants others to seek its good.

Love voluntarily, intentionally, eagerly, faithfully, and heartily promotes and protects the interests and well-being of others. Love willingly and joyfully sacrifices its own interests in order to increase its effectiveness in promoting and protecting the good of others. Love wisely and reasonably promotes and protects an individual’s or group’s good without compromising anyone else’s good – be they an individual or a group or a nation.

Therefore, love is the great end, the ultimate purpose, and the grand goal of all

God wants for us, does for us, and says to us. Love is God’s way.

It is the right way. Indeed, it is so important, so vital to all that matters in life that in writing to Timothy, Paul said, “The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy

1:5).

There is nothing more important, more precious, more satisfying, more mentally and emotionally healthy, more ethical, more equitable, or more beneficial to the security and well-being of everyone everywhere than love. It is the only basis for meaningful, lasting relationships. It is a pure and lasting motivation for each party in a relationship to willingly and consistently make the good of the other more important than the good of self. We cannot do anything greater or more noble than to love God above all else and love our neighbor as ourselves.

We cannot fulfill the will of God more completely than when we make love the ruling principle over all we say and do. We cannot find greater happiness and security than when we abide in love. (Note: Matthew 7:12; 22:36-40;

Galatians

5:14; John 13:15,21,23)

And finally, living according to God’s love is indisputable proof that we know God.

God, himself, is love, and we come to know perfect love when we repent and are reconciled to Him. Because God is always rational and sane, we experience the reasonableness and faithfulness of love when we experience

God’s love for us.

Because God is just toward all people everywhere, we get a clear picture of love’s determination to seek the good of one or some in a manner which protects the good of all. Because God sacrificed His most precious son to save us from the penalty of sin, we know the extent of personal sacrifice to which love will go in seeking the good of those loved. Because God is patient and kind to all who trust in Him, we enjoy a kind of acceptance, a level of security, and a depth of belonging rarely experienced between husbands and wives or best friends. Therefore, to know God personally is to know love.

On the other hand, knowingly and willingly remaining self-centered is equally indisputable proof that we do not know God. We may know about God, but we cannot know God personally and remain committed to a life, or even a partial life of deliberate self-centeredness. The scriptures make this clear by saying that whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love (I John

4:7-8).

The Christian’s Love for God

For the Christian, love is first and foremost directed toward God

– at least that is the way it is supposed to be.

In a perfect world with perfect people, loving God first and foremost would be as natural as breathing and eating. In our imperfect world, where pride, selfishness, and sin of every kind abounds, loving self first and foremost is so common that loving God first and foremost has to be required of us for most of us to give it any serious consideration at all.

Therefore,

God commands us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. What this means is that we are to love God more than anyone or anything else

– which includes loving Him more than ourselves. He is to be our supreme love in all things and in all ways. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Mark 12:29-31)

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, supreme refers to that which is greatest in power, authority, or rank; that which is paramount or dominant; that which is greatest in importance, degree, significance, character, or achievement; that which is ultimate; final. In other words, there can be only one supreme love in your life at a time.

And herein lies the challenge, because from early on in life our strongest inclination is to love ourselves supremely. And when we do, all other relationships become subordinate to self-love. All other interests are subject to self-interest. All other good is evaluated in light of self-good. We are committed to promoting and protecting our well-being, first and foremost, even when it feeds unjustified distrust of others, damages relationships, and sabotages love. Therefore, the hardest part of fulfilling

God’s command to love

Him supremely is making love of yourself subordinate to love of God in all things and in every way.

To make all other loves, including self-love, subordinate to our love for

God requires self-denial. To make our interests subject to or less than

God’s interests requires self-denial. To evaluate self-good in light of

God’s good requires self-denial. In essence, we must die to self-importance to make God all-important, and to unreservedly and unconditionally seek His good.

Therefore, we must deny self to love God supremely.

In relation to love, the denial of self is first of all a deliberate decision to place the importance of another above the importance of self. Then, this decision is followed by choices and behaviors that faithfully promote and protect the good of the other.

Many think they can love God without denying self in this way. But they can’t. We must deny self if we are to free ourselves from enough self-interest to be able to love God more than ourselves. We must subordinate self-interest to

God’s interests if we are to consistently seek His good above what we think to be our own good. We must change our allegiance from self to God if we are to whole-heartedly commit ourselves to thoughtfully, diligently, and faithfully doing His will – not just where it is convenient, exciting, or self-fulfilling, but in all areas of life. Therefore, without the denial of self

– as fully as

God intends us to deny self – we will not and cannot love God supremely.

However, denying self to love God supremely is no easy matter. Self-denial of this magnitude puts us in numerous positions of being vulnerable to the earthly, physical, economic, social, political, and temporal costs of doing

God’s will.

And because such costs often pose a threat to our sense of security and well-being, very few are willing to deny self in this way.

Therefore, many of us in the Christian community try to love God while holding on to at least some self-rule, some self-centeredness, some fleshly desires, and some earthly ways. It isn’t that we don’t want to love

God, we just don’t want to love Him supremely in case the cost becomes greater than we want to pay or think we should have to pay. So we end up loving God as far as our supreme love of self will allow.

However, when we don’t love God supremely, we are cheating Him out of the love He deserves and disobeying His command to love Him with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind, and all of our strength. But when we do make a sincere, whole-hearted, whole-life effort to love God supremely, we’re faced with having to endure situations and people that – from an earthly, self-serving perspective – make life more difficult, more miserable, and more painful. It can seem as if these two options present us with a no-win situation.

But

God, knowing our human frailties and inclinations, provides a reasonable, workable, dependable solution! The solution is to have someone greater than ourselves look out for our well-being while we focus on promoting and protecting God’s interests. And of course, the only trustworthy “someone greater” is God, because He has the power, ability, will, and love to do so. In fact, God wants us to trust in Him as our first and foremost source of security just as He wants us to trust Him for our provision, protection, comfort, peace, joy, empowerment for godly living, and eternal life.

Do you see the seeming paradox in this? God commands us to love Him more than ourselves, which requires becoming vulnerable in order to do His will by loving

Him in this way. And yet if we will do His will, He will keep us safe.

If we will place complete trust in His goodness (His integrity, honesty, morality, decency, sincerity, justice, strength, knowledge, wisdom, and rationality),

He will surround us with all the provision and protection we need to freely and cheerfully love Him with all our being.

However, very few believe God is completely trustworthy. Somewhat trustworthy or mostly trustworthy – yes, but not completely trustworthy. Therefore, it is far more common for Christians to distrust God and love God a little than to trust Him completely and love Him supremely.

Many think that at least a few of God’s commands are irrational or excessive. They may not admit this, but their choices and behavior confirm it. When you observe

Christians like this in action, you will soon see that some of their repetitive choices and behaviors prove they believe it is unsafe to do everything

God says. Others are convinced God is occasionally disinterested or indifferent to their needs. They especially feel this way in times of trouble. This feeds their unwillingness to take the risks necessary to do what is required to love

Him supremely. Some conclude God won’t do what is necessary because He doesn’t do what they want Him to do. So they keep self-centeredness alive for those times when they believe they must make up for God’s failures by acting on their own behalf.

Yet

God is worthy of our trust. He is flawlessly good. He is the quintessence of love.

He is the faithful, gentle, gracious, compassionate Father, who in all ways and at all times promotes and protects our good. When we trust in His goodness enough to place our well-being in His hands, we soon realize we couldn’t be safer, for He lovingly turns our vulnerability into unchallengeable, unshakable security – a security which inspires us to willingly and eagerly die to self-interest so it cannot obstruct our devotion to doing His will.

Therefore, don’t miss this truth. Complete trust in God’s goodness, that is trusting Him in every area and in every way that you know you ought to trust Him, is essential to loving Him supremely. As has been said already, we can trust God in certain areas and in specific ways without trusting Him completely

– or as much as we know we ought to trust Him. Yet without complete trust we will never love Him more than (or even as much as) ourselves.

Any amount of known and tolerated distrust of God compels us to love self the most and focus on promoting and protecting our well-being as if it is our most important concern.

To love God supremely, to love Him more than ourselves, we must trust

Him completely.

We can know we are trusting God completely when we willingly and eagerly place our life and the lives of those dearest to us (parents, siblings, spouse, children) in His hands and depend on Him to do what is best for all of us in every situation. In other words, we can know we have placed our life and the lives of those dearest to us in His hands when we cheerfully and intentionally live according to His Word, in spite of the obvious risks and possible costs to our own well-being. This is the level of trust required to love God supremely.

The outward manifestation of loving God supremely is predominantly found in how we treat people – those affected in some way by our choices and behavior. It becomes evident we love God supremely when we treat the people around us with the same kindness, consideration, and respect as we want to receive from them.

If we neglect or choose something other than to promote and protect the good of those we can see, or can help, or in some way can affect by what we do, it shows we do not love God supremely.

If you question the truth of what has just been stated, think about this.

God loves everyone. And, every one of God’s commands are intended to keep us on the path of love. They set boundaries which protect the good of everyone.

Can we, then, intentionally disobey or carelessly disregard any of

God’s commands without knowingly, willingly, and unjustly hurting someone He loves?

Can we deliberately and repeatedly hurt someone He loves and love Him at the same time?

We cannot love God and intentionally or even carelessly continue to hurt anyone He loves. We may act foolishly and selfishly on occasion. But when God is our supreme love, we will confess our sin and make things right with whomever we’ve wronged as soon as we see the wrong we have done. In addition, when God is our supreme love, we will look for thought patterns and behavior patterns in our life which promote the practice of sin (hurt others unnecessarily) so we can break those patterns and establish righteous ones in their place.

Do not let anyone deceive you in this matter. No one who knowingly and deliberately practices sin loves God. (Note: John 14:15, 21, 23; I John

2:3-6; 4:7-8,

19-21; 5:3)

Though

God commands us to love Him, He does not make us love Him. We are free to love

Him, like Him, dislike Him, or even hate Him. The decision is totally ours. We are free to do as we please – though this doesn’t mean we are free to do as we please without consequences appropriate to our choices.

Nevertheless, we are free to choose, and such freedom is essential to genuine love.

Only when we are free not to love can God feel justifiably confident that our choice to love Him means we want to love Him. Only when we are free not to love can He know He is precious and trustworthy in our eyes. And, only when we are free to love ourselves supremely can the act of self-denial validate His supremacy in our lives.

Though

God’s command to love Him only addresses our love for Him, He is not looking for one-sided love. He wants a relationship with us. He wants a mutually reciprocal relationship where each side seeks the good of the other, feels cherished by the other, trusts the other, and is confidently secure in the love of the other.

Take serious note of this. The creator of the universe, the supreme God who is over all that has been, is, and will be, wants an intimate, never-ending, mutually satisfying relationship with us. He wants this so much that He has already sacrificed the life of His son to make it possible. He wants this so much that

He patiently waits for us to come to our senses, repent of our sin, and be reconciled to Him – even though such waiting often means the continued practice of sin on our part. He wants this so much that He has given His Spirit the task of convicting us of sin, righteousness, and the coming judgment so we will be even more inclined to accept His invitation to a reconciled relationship of mutual love and trust. The point is, choosing to love God supremely brings us into an unequaled, intimate, meaningful, serious, mutual, and eternal relationship of love and trust with Him.

When we love God supremely our lives are enriched in many ways. Yet when we love God supremely, personal enrichment is never our motive or goal. If it is, we are yet self-focused and committed to self-love. When our focus is on God,

His enrichment is our supreme interest. And yet, love for God results in many blessings from His hands which He intends for us to enjoy. While that is the reward of love, it is never the goal of the one who loves.

Loving

God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is the most complete expression of trust in God. It is the only reasonable response of awe and adoration for God. It is only possible through the denial of self and complete trust in His goodness. And only when God is your supreme love are you free enough of self-love to manifest your unremitting passion to please this

One whom you love so much.

Manifestations of Christian Love

Love has many characteristics. There are many ways in which it can and ought to promote and protect the good of others. Therefore, to love in a godly, practical, rational manner we must understand the different characteristics of love and learn how to integrate them into our beliefs, values, choices, and behavior.

Love Is Enhanced by but Not the Result of

Feelings

Love and feelings are so strongly associated in our culture that most of us look to our feelings to see if we love someone. Many assume they do not and cannot love unless they have feelings of love. When we ask others why they no longer love someone, they often respond with an explanation that says their feelings have changed. However, when we believe love is the result of feelings, we are confusing love with endearment.

Love is a quality, a belief system, a way of life whose existence is not dependent on how we feel about someone, or what we think about them, or the condition of their relationship with us. Therefore, we step into love, take on its qualities, and live its way when we voluntarily and deliberately choose to live by the standard of love which, in its essence, promotes and protects the good of everyone affected by whatever we do and say. In contrast, endearment grows within us when we feel an attraction or fondness or adoration or infatuation for another person.

Love is outward focused. Endearment is inward focused. Love finds its greatest fulfillment in giving – especially when the giving is within a shared, intimate relationship built on mutual love and trust. Endearment finds fulfillment in receiving – especially when receiving the kind of attention and treatment that assures us we are desirable to and wanted by someone we want to love us.

Love values meaningful, intimate, equally shared, mutually trusting, long lasting relationships. Endearment values the immediate feelings of being wanted, adored, valued, and respected.

However, because love is a quality or a system of belief that is built on an unchangeable standard, it is possible for love to begin and remain one sided.

In other words, it is possible to give love even though love is not returned.

Endearment – whether it is you trying to endear yourself to someone or someone trying to endear themselves to you – often begins one sided.

But if its efforts do not achieve the desired response, the one making the effort will stop.

Love’s joy is seeking the good of others, pleasing others, and gaining meaningful relationship with others. Endearment’s joy is the feelings which occur when others behave in a manner that assures you they value you.

Without question, emotions and feelings are a wonderful gift from God. They enhance our lives tremendously. Yet they are not the basis, or means, or proof of loving anyone, or the proof of being loved. This includes loving and being loved by

God. Our relationship with God spans time, from the first moments of faith to the endless reaches of eternity. Such a relationship is not brought in to being, made meaningful, and verified by our feelings, but by true repentance, faith in

Jesus’ redeeming work, reconciliation to God, and living a

God pleasing life.

In other words, to have a genuine and lasting relationship with God requires both parties to willfully act in ways that promote and protect each other’s good regardless of how each one feels at any given moment.

It is the same in human relationships. Meaningful, enduring relationships cannot be built on feelings of endearment. They can begin that way, but to grow from endearment to love, they must be built on the belief system of love which, according to the standard of love, chooses to seek each other's good.

Feelings of endearment often enhance shared relationships where each seeks the good of the other, but because such feelings come and go, they lack the ability to sustain a shared relationship of love and trust.

Jesus told the story of a Samaritan who gave aid to a Jewish man who had been robbed and left for dead on the road to Jericho. To understand the full impact of this story it is important to know that Jews and Samaritans despised each other. If on seeing the Jewish man lying on the road the Samaritan had acted according to common Samaritan feelings, he would have passed by without giving help.

However, the Samaritan made a voluntary and deliberate decision to help a person in need. His act of help was a demonstration of love because he chose to seek the good of the Jew irrespective of whatever feelings he may have had toward Jews in general.

All love that is like God’s love rises to the standard of love as a result of choosing to love regardless of whatever feelings you may have at the moment. In contrast, if you follow your feelings, you will love at times, not care at other times, and even despise or act hostile at sometimes. It is only when you voluntarily, deliberately, and faithfully choose to do what is best for

God and the good of all mankind that you love as God loves.

Love Is Selfless

When we love ourselves supremely, the good of self is our primary concern.

We can camouflage our self-centeredness by talking as if others matter to us and by doing deeds of kindness now and then, but we cannot hide it from those closest to us. We can tell ourselves we are loving, but we cannot keep those who know us from seeing through our facade. Why? Because they see us in action

– day after day after day. And as the old proverb says, our repetitive actions speak so loud that those nearest no longer believe what we say.

So, don’t be deceived. When you love self the most almost everything you do is decided on the basis of what is best for you. Therefore, over the course of time you will expose your self-centeredness no matter how hard you try to hide it.

Conversely, when you love God more than yourself and love others as you love yourself, their good (God, others) becomes your primary concern. Instead of being self-centered, you become others-centered. Instead of thinking, speaking, and acting selfishly, you think, say, and do what is in the best interests or to the greater good others. Instead of treasuring the good of self, you treasure the happiness of God and the good of those affected by your choices and behavior.

Instead of cherishing selfishness as an expedient and wise method of navigating life’s paths, you cherish selflessness. And, instead of cheerfully and deliberately seeking your own good apart from an equal concern for the good of others, you cheerfully and thoughtfully seek the good of others along with seeking your good.

Truly, when we love God supremely and others as ourselves, almost everything we do is decided on the basis of what is best for all involved. Therefore, we cannot help but show ourselves to be selfless in spite of immature efforts or occasional detours into sin.

When those who are others-centered fail to love because of a foolish or sinful choice, they repent of their wrong, make things right with whomever they’ve wronged, and return to the way of love as soon as they see the wrong they’ve done. In this way their unselfish concern for the well-being of others remains obvious to those who know them in spite of their occasional failures along the way.

Jesus

Christ is the foremost example of selflessness. Although He was in the form of

God and enjoying all the power and privileges of God, He did not consider His perfect circumstances to be the most important thing in life. His primary concern was the happiness of God and the well-being of those whom God loved. So

Jesus gave up His power and privileges, and in so doing became as vulnerable to the demands, whims, cruelties, and injustices of others as the weakest, poorest, and lowliest among us. He cheerfully chose to become like a slave in order to selflessly serve and love sinners in a way that would meet their need.

And He proved His love through His service. He submitted to rejection, ridicule, hatred, injustice, cruelty, and a horrible death to seek the good of every sinner who has ever lived or will ever live on this earth. He sacrificed his reputation, popularity, control over His environment, comfort, His right to justice, and His wish for a reasonably pleasant death to pay a debt we owed, but could not pay. His concern for our good coupled with His desire to please

His Father motivated Him, at great cost to Himself, to serve and love us selflessly. (Note: Philippians 2:5-8)

The reality is, selflessness is costly to self. And though willingly paying the cost of selflessness makes for exciting stories about noble-minded people laying down their lives for the good of others, and though willingly paying the costs of selflessness seems to work well when courting the one we want to marry, when it comes to how we live day in and day out, the cost of selflessness to self is the major reason we choose selfishness over love. In fact, the cost of selflessness to self is the leading reason so many of us view selflessness as a noble ideal that is too impractical to be useful in the real world.

Yet nothing could be farther from the truth. In spite of its cost to self, selflessness is realistic and rational when God is our primary source of security. When we place our well-being in God’s hands and refuse to go outside

God’s boundaries of right and wrong, selflessness not only makes sense, it works.

Consider this great truth. God loves us in the same way He asks us to love others.

Therefore, we can trust Him to seek our good in all things and in all ways. We can trust Him to promote and protect our well-being while we focus on seeking and securing the good of others. In other words, when God is our primary source of security, He makes sure His love for us always exceeds our love for others.

In other words, we cannot do for others more than God has done, is doing, and will do for us. We cannot risk anything that God will not restore many times over – if not in this life, then in the next.

Jesus spoke about the security we have in God when we seek their good in the same way

He seeks our good. For example, we read in Matthew 6:31-33,

“Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the [unbelievers] eagerly seek all these things; [but]

your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. [Therefore,] seek first

His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

As for allowing the fear of giving away too much to stop us from giving,

Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure – pressed down, shaken together, and running over.

For by your standard of measure [that you give] it will be measured to you in return” (Luke 6:38).

This does not mean, however, that we are to foolishly ignore or neglect our needs as if it is wrong to have a sensible and practical interest in our own well-being.

Godly love includes self-interest, but it is a self-interest which never compromises or minimizes selflessness. Therefore, love is selfless but not brainless. It is self-denial but not self-hatred. It is self-sacrificial but not self-destructive. Consider the following examples.

Reducing your use of personal income and possessions to the barest minimum so you can increase what you have to share with those in need is selfless. Giving everything away so you are on the street, empty handed, and needy yourself, is stupid.

To risk the security of your family or your future, to risk loss of employment, to risk your health or life itself, to evangelize the lost, defend the weak, and champion the cause of those who have no advocate is selfless. To risk family, future, health, or life to remain in a setting where everyone resists your efforts and wants to harm you is unwise, especially if you can move to a setting where you can love in this way without being persecuted.

To purposefully seek out unbelievers, passionately proclaim the gospel of salvation to them, and zealously disciple those who respond is selfless. To pursue evangelism and discipleship to the neglect of your family so that your spouse and children turn against God and you, is stupid.

Because love is a choice, love is selfless by choice. Because love is a choice, we must choose to deny self as part of our choice to make the good of others a primary concern. Because love is a choice, we are free to decide when, where, for whom, and how extensively we will selflessly seek the good of others. Because love is a choice, it is our prerogative to decide what we will risk to promote and protect God’s interests and the good of others.

Love Is Practical

It is more blessed to give than to receive. It is also more work, and therefore more fatiguing both physically and mentally. A life devoted to promoting and protecting the good of others and helping people in their time of trouble needs time for rest and relaxation. It needs times of refreshment. Yet to get the rest and refreshment we need we must, for a time, neglect the needs of people.

We must act, for a time, as if we are thinking mostly of ourselves.

This may seem contrary to love, but it isn’t.

To put this in proper perspective, consider God and His Sabbath rest. For six days

He worked. On the seventh, He rested. He took time off from His labors and spent a day relaxing and focusing His attention on something other than work.

Now we understand that God did not need to rest as we humans need to rest. Yet in taking His day off He set an example for us. We need to rest and focus our attention on something other than work in order to be refreshed for another week of work. In fact, He commanded this pattern of six days work and one day rest as a practice for all humanity to follow. (Note: Genesis 2:2-3;

Exodus

20:8-1, 23:12)

Consider

Jesus. He had the power to heal, the power to cast out demons, the power to raise the dead, and the power to do other great miracles. And since

Jesus was devoted to serving the needs of others and committed to seeking the good of everyone, He healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead, performed other miracles, and taught all who would listen. Yet He also got tired. So occasionally He would go off with His disciples to some quiet place where He could rest. After being refreshed, He would return to His calling – loving others as God loves, giving as God gives, and going about doing all the good He could to as many people as He could.

This practical side of love does not diminish our commitment to promoting and protecting the good of others. Instead, it sensibly faces the frailty of our humanity and wisely deals with it within the boundaries of love. We must be practical about rest and rejuvenation if we are to remain sane and sensible in bringing love to a world desperate with need. Should we fail to be practical in this matter, we will get so tired that we will lose our joy and purpose in serving.

We may even get tired to the point of burning out so that we simply want out of

God’s service. Such things do not have to happen. Well-chosen times of relaxation and rest will keep freshness in our love and energy in our action.

Love Is Sensible

The world is full of opportunities to love. With a little perceptiveness and a few aptly asked questions we can become aware of numerous needs in our extended family, city, workplace, church, and neighborhood. Because of global communication we can learn about severe needs in far-away places. What does love do when made aware of an overwhelming number of needs?

When faced with more cries for help than we can respond to, it is best to use several criterion for deciding who to help and how much to do. The use of these criterion can help you love in ways which do not jeopardize the community good, which promote changed lives rather than patched problems, and which help you decide how, when, and where you can do the greatest amount of good with what you have.

The first criterion deals with the nature of the need in relation to the community good. This criterion looks at the cause of the need. It considers how acting on behalf of the needy person or group of people will affect the greater good of the community.

In many of our cities, homeless alcoholics work the street corners asking for money. Drug addicts go to churches with touching stories of human need in the hopes of getting money. In both cases, money given is most often used to further their addiction. Therefore, in giving money we end up supporting their addiction which further enslaves them to their alcohol or drugs. This is not love, for it fails to seek their good just as doing nothing fails to seek their good.

But beyond doing further harm to the alcoholic or drug addict by giving them money, we violate the good of the community. Any help which further entrenches the alcoholic or drug addict in his life-style further burdens the community with his addiction-related problems.

Finally, when we give money to those who misuse it, we diminish the amount of money available for those caught in dire situations who would use the money to overcome their situation or gain some measure of immediate relief.

To discern what love would do we must look beyond the moment and consider the cause of the need, what good our help will do for the one in need, and how helping the needy person will affect the rest of the community. Many are in dire need, but not everyone who asks for money will use the money for their own good or the good of the community. Therefore, we must blend intelligence and compassion to ensure our love does not compromise the good of the one in need or jeopardize the good of the community.

For example, buying a meal for an alcoholic asking for money is far better than giving him money. Buying necessary items for a drug addict's family

– be it food or otherwise, and taking them to the drug addict's home – is better than giving cash. Giving money to legitimate para-church or community organizations that work directly with the poor, the needy, and the addicted is better than giving cash to someone asking for help on a street corner or at the entrance of a grocery store.

The second criterion to consider is proximity. How close are we to the need? What is the distance (feet, miles) between us and the person or people in need? This criterion promotes personal contact, when possible.

Love is best expressed and best experienced through personal contact.

Personal involvement builds new relationships and strengthens established ones.

It provides the kind of interaction that supports the needy person’s emotional and mental well-being in addition to caring for their physical needs. It feeds their sense of importance as a person and helps satisfy their desire to belong to a caring community. It opens doors of opportunity for evangelism and discipleship. It motivates observers to see God as good and worthy of their allegiance. Therefore, personal involvement with the person or people in need is to be preferred.

Consider the example of the alcoholic and drug addict. Far more than money, they need someone to come along side of them and help them make wiser decisions and live a better life. Going with them to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to ensure they attend would do them far more good than giving them twenty dollars.

Getting involved with a family living in poverty to help them learn how to make the best use of the resources they have and where to go to begin improving their situation would do far more good than only giving them food money for a week.

Teaching an illiterate bread-winner how to read so he could get a better job would do more good for his family and the community than only giving him a bag of groceries each month. Truly, when we can get personally involved in meeting the needs of people in need, we should, for this is the way God loves us.

The third criterion to consider is time. If we are close enough to get personally involved, or if we are willing to travel to the site of need, we then must determine how much time we can devote to the need.

Many of us already have full schedules, and our list of things to do is more than time permits. What we don’t have is a daily reserve of free time. So where do we find extra time to get personally involved in helping people? We find it in the hours already committed to specific things, like employment, sleeping, being attentive to family members, food preparation, eating and clean-up, personal hygiene, general household chores, exercise, entertainment, volunteer service in a church or civic group, Bible study, prayer, and other such things.

Love does not ask us to pretend we are not busy. Neither does it judge the importance of our current commitments. It simply asks us to love others as we love ourselves. For example, what do we do when we are in need? Do we ignore the need for lack of time? No. We evaluate our commitments to see which ones can be rescheduled, neglected for a time, or deleted altogether so as to find enough time to take care of the need. If we love ourselves this way, ought we not – to some reasonable degree – love those around us who are in need of our help?

The fourth criterion to consider is available resources. Why? Because money and possessions are often key ingredients when giving help in a time of need.

Therefore, this criterion identifies the extent of help we can give to needs of a monetary or commodities nature – be they next door or in a far-away land.

Money and possessions can be sent to those in need whether they are overseas, across the country, on the other side of the city, or across the street. This kind of help enables us to participate in world-missions and in hunger or other needed relief efforts in far-away places. One caution, however, is needed. It is important that we do not use money or possessions to insulate ourselves from the inconvenience or uncomfortableness of personal contact when personal contact is possible.

Given the extent of need in our world, how do we decide how much money and which possessions we will use in giving help? Here again, love does not tell us how much money we need for our own care or how much to give. Nor does love tell us which possessions are important and which are frivolous. Love simply asks us to care about others in the same manner and to the same degree that we care about ourselves.

With this as our foundational principle, we can examine how we care for ourselves in time of great or pressing need. If we are sensible, it is most likely we will make sacrifices in one or several areas of common need in order to gather the resources necessary to bring relief to a pressing need in another area.

Why?

Because our primary concern is meeting the pressing need of the moment, not what we will have to do without or how we will manage thereafter.

Therefore, without neglecting the practical and sensible sides of love, we can follow

Christ’s example, who though He was rich, yet for our sakes

He became poor so that we, through His poverty, might become rich. (Note: 2 Corinthians

8:9)

However, there are far more needs in our world than we, by ourselves, can care for.

Therefore, the final criterion to consider is where and how we can do the most good. In other words, because there are more needs than we can care for, we should concentrate our efforts where we can do the greatest good.

Reason confirms we cannot help everyone at the same time, or even in one lifetime. But we can examine the need in light of the first four criterion and then make a decision as to where we think we can do the most good. This is a judgment call, and asking God for wisdom in making the call is wise. It is probable we will not always make the right decision, but we ought to try and keep trying.

However, we need to be forewarned that loving in these ways has a negative side.

When we make a decision to help where we believe it will do the most good, we are simultaneously making a decision to ignore other legitimate needs. This is offensive to those whose pet project or personal need we have chosen to disregard because we believe we can do more good somewhere else.

Offended people and perceptive observers can be very critical. So be prepared.

Don’t ignore the criticism. It may have elements of truth which can improve your decision making regarding who and how much to help. But don’t get crushed by it either. If your decision is based on love, you haven’t excluded anyone because you love them less or simply don’t care, but rather because you’ve chosen to do the greatest possible good with what you have.

Love Willingly Bears the Cross

Many are destroying themselves, their families, their co-workers, and their communities by living in the darkness of sin. Few are seriously committed to bringing the light of God into this darkness. Therefore, those who love see their personal needs to be of lesser importance when compared to the far greater need of bringing light into an ever-darkening, self-destructing world.

Those who willfully go on doing what they know is wrong are destined for eternal banishment from God and all who love as God loves. Yet the loss of even one sinner to hell is agonizingly heartbreaking to God and to anyone who has repented and received God’s great salvation from the penalty of sin. Therefore, the Christian’s priorities have little to do with one’s own needs and a lot to do with evangelizing the lost — which is a radically different focus from those who are self-serving.

The ability and privilege of promoting and protecting the good of others is like water to the parched and food to the starving for the Christian.

Therefore, the promotion and protection of his own needs becomes secondary to doing what he can to evangelize unbelievers and care for the needs (food, clothing, shelter, medical attention, justice) of others. This seems idealistic, unrealistic, excessive, and even incomprehensible to the self-centered.

To the self-centered, personal or family needs directly related to happiness, security, health, protection, and acceptance are the needs which get the greatest amount of attention. To the Christian, needs directly related to loving God supremely and loving others as himself are the needs which get the greatest amount of attention. Therefore, he willingly picks up the cross of love whenever necessary to fulfill the motive of love. This is demonstrated in the story about Shadrach,

Meshach, and Abed-nego, three young, captive, Jewish men living in

Babylon. (Note: Daniel 1-3)

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were Israelites who were taken captive to Babylon, along with Daniel, for the purpose of serving in King

Nebuchadnezzar’s court. After they had been in Babylon for a time, King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden image of himself and decreed that everyone had to bow down and worship it. Those who would not bow and worship were to be thrown into a fiery furnace.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were faced with a dilemma. It was a needs-based crisis — their needs verses the needs of God and the

Babylonians. They had to make a decision as to the most important need of the moment.

If they obeyed the king they would go on living. But if they obeyed the king, they would dishonor God and cheapen God’s image in the eyes of the Babylonians. This would give the Babylonians even greater cause to blaspheme Jehovah and go on in their sin — keeping themselves and setting future generations on the path of eternal destruction. So they had to decide how the

Babylonians’ need to rightly see God, repent, and submit to the lordship of God compared to their need to live — thus avoiding a horribly painful fiery death.

So what was the greatest need at this moment of crisis? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego decided the most vital need was for the Babylonians to get the clear message that Jehovah was worthy of their reverence and obedience. To get this message across these three men had to bear the cross of love. They had to defy King Nebuchadnezzar and face a horrifying death by fire.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego bore the cross of love because they lived by the principle of love. It was love which gave them eyes to see that the greatest need of the moment was the honor of God. It was love which helped them see that their need to live was secondary to their need to protect God’s reputation. It was love which gave them more concern for the Babylonians’ eternal life than for their own present life. And it was love which motivated them to voluntarily bear the cross of love — to seek the good of others over the good of self.

Yet

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego lived by more than the principle of love. They lived by faith in God — a faith which convinced them they could never do more for God than God would do for them. They could never lose more in the name of love than God would restore — if not in this life, then certainly in the next.

Many read this story in awe that three men could make such a choice knowing it would result in certain death. Yet these three men did not choose death. They chose love. They chose the greater good over the lesser good. They did not hate themselves, or lack a good self-image. They loved themselves. But they loved God and the Babylonians, too.

Therefore, they picked up the cross of love so they could meet the greatest need of the moment — a need which could not be met without great personal sacrifice.

This kind of reasoning is not unique to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. It is the common way of thinking. It is the normal way of looking at life by all who love God supremely and their neighbor as themselves. It does not always result in the loss of our lives, but it always results in the loss of something personal.

Think about this. When someone’s need is in conflict with what we need, we cannot fully satisfy both needs at the same time.

Something must be sacrificed if one or both needs are to be attended to. Love’s cross is choosing to bear the brunt of the sacrifice ourselves to secure the good of others. Jesus did this for us, on the cross. The apostle Paul did this to take the message of salvation to those who had never heard it. And the list can go on and on — which means you can do it too.

Love Is Frugal

Those who love are frugal (financially prudent and thrifty). Why? For the sole purpose of using their financial resources for the good of as many people as possible beyond themselves and their immediate family. Love motivates us to choose simplicity in things like food, clothes, housing, cars, recreation, entertainment, insurance, savings, and investments for only one reason - to increase what we can do with what we have in serving God and advancing His purposes in our world.

Extravagance, hoarding, and waste are enemies of love.

They promote self-interest, self-indulgence, wasteful luxury, licentiousness, gluttony, and miserliness - undermining our ability to promote and protect the good of others. They squander what finances we have available for doing good, leaving us empty-handed when others need our help - help we could give if we had used our finances and resources with the good of others in mind.

But they go farther. They focus our attention on ourselves so that we think more about our needs and wants than the good of others. They feed the fear of anything that jeopardizes our own good so that we do not want to do good for others at our expense.

To combat extravagance, hoarding, waste, and the mindset which accompanies them, God directs us to set aside a portion of our finances for charity

(helping the needy, supporting missions and our local Church, being prepared for crisis needs) before spending anything on ourselves. This is wise advice, especially for those who want to love but lack sufficient self-control and for those who want to use what they have for the good of others but fear for their own well-being. Here is why.

1.    When we designate a portion of what we earn for charity and set that money aside before spending anything on ourselves, we are ensuring that that amount of money will be used for charity. Personal expenditures can easily exceed intentions so that very little or even nothing is left for charity if it is not taken out first.

2.   Setting aside a portion of our income before spending anything on ourselves requires careful planning as to how we will use the rest. We must thoughtfully consider how to spend what is left so our expenditures do not exceed the money we have available for personal needs. This level of thoughtfulness will at first identify waste and extravagance so we can free up even more for charity. Then, it will enable us to keep the lid on waste and extravagance so we can love as we want to be loved.

3.   Finally, when love rules our lives, we will want to set aside as much as we can - sacrificially - for the benefit of others. We cannot sacrificially set aside money for the good of others without realizing we need God’s help to make do with what is left for personal use. This kind of giving forces us to trust in God as our provider and protector - not ourselves or our saving account or our secure job or anything human. And we can trust God. Jesus told his disciples to pour their efforts and resources into building

God’s kingdom and promoting God’s righteousness and God would make sure they had what they needed to live that day. In addition, it is spiritually healthy to trust

God. Trusting God to stretch what we have so that we have enough frees us to focus our attention on loving Him supremely and others as ourselves.

Jesus was with His disciples in the temple. They were standing near the offering box observing the people as they put in their offerings. Many were rich, and the amounts they put in were large. Then a poor widow came and put in two pennies.

Jesus said she put in more than all the rest.

The disciples needed an explanation because they thought the widow's two pennies were insignificant compared to what the others had put in. Jesus said the amount was not the issue. He pointed out that the widow put in all she had left - her security against tomorrow’s needs. So it was not the amount that made her gift the largest but the fact she loved so much she was willing to think of the needs of others as equal to her own.

Though poor and socially unprotected, she made sure she had money enough for charity.

Though needy, she had enough for that day and she wanted others to have what they needed, too. And because God was her provider and protector, she was willing to trust in God rather than her two pennies to care for her needs tomorrow.

Therefore, she gave the most.

The others had given out of their surplus. They gave a portion of what was left after making sure their needs and wants were cared for. They loved themselves, first and foremost. They were willing to consider the plight of others, but only after they had satisfactorily taken care of their own needs and desires. They gave only as much as they believed they could give without jeopardizing their current, luxurious life-style. Therefore, they gave very little in comparison to the widow. (Note: Mark 12:41-44;

Luke 21:1-4)

Frugality and simplicity are not unique to Christian love. Many put these principles into practice for the good of their own families. Is it not true that many families have sacrificed luxuries, and even needs, to send their children through college. Many have limited what they spent on themselves before retirement so they could set aside money for their retirement years. If we know how to be frugal for the love of self, we know how to be frugal for the love of others.

Selfishness can never be mistaken for love. Love, practiced over a period of time will never be mistaken for self-centeredness. Love is frugal for the sake of increasing what can be done to promote and protect the good of others. How you work out being frugal is not always easy. It may not be the same way others do it. But if you make love the deciding factor and ask God for wisdom, you will work it out. If you still do not agree that love takes you in this direction, consider Jesus. Although He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

(Note:

II Corinthians 8:9)

Love Is Compassionate

If you weep at the sight of a homeless person - disheveled, hungry, cold, lonely - but do nothing to improve his situation when you could do something, what good are your tears? Compassion is an action, not a feeling. It works for the good of people in crisis by doing what needs to be done to relieve or at least contribute to the reduction of their misery.

Yet, it is often thought that compassion is primarily feelings of empathy for people in distress or in desperate need. This simply is not true. No matter how deeply we feel the desperation of other people’s problems, if we do nothing when we could do something, we have no love-based compassion for them.

Because the need for compassion is primarily crisis driven, compassion itself often seems like a spontaneous response to the current crisis. In fact, it often is a spontaneous response on the part of the thoughtless and self-centered. But when we love as we want to be loved, compassion is the result of many choices merging together at the time of crisis which enable us to act on behalf of the one or ones in need.

The choices which most significantly affect our acts of compassion are made long before an opportunity for compassion arises. These first compassion-affecting choices center around our regular use of time, energy, and personal resources (money, possessions).

If we examine our use of these three things on any particular day, it becomes clear that each of them is significantly affected by a number of prior choices. Previous commitments, established patterns of behavior, and long-standing habits are all the result of prior choices which affect our current use of time, energy, and personal resources.

Think about this. The amount of time set aside for work, sleeping, eating, personal hygiene, marriage relationship, parenting, exercise, home care (dishes, laundry, house cleaning), recreation, television, hobbies, Bible reading, prayer, Church attendance, and the like is most often the result of decisions made days, months, and years in advance of today. Our choice of career affects at least a third of our time and energy use for years to come. Our choice to marry and have children does the same. This means we determined before today how most of our time and energy will be used today. In other words, our prior choices significantly affect the time and energy either available for or flexible enough to accommodate acts of compassion today.

Added to these kinds of choices are our choices concerning the use of resources.

What we choose to do with our money determines what is left for helping people in distress. Every dollar spent on food, clothing, a place to live, and transportation; every dollar used to repay borrowed money; every dollar saved for our children’s education or our retirement; and every dollar spent on insuring our future against possible loss decreases our current financial resources for helping people in distress. We have the power to make these choices in a way which either prohibits or enables us to respond to many crisis type needs as they arise. But we must make these kinds of choices prior to today if we are to have the financial resources available to help today.

In the same way, our choices concerning how we will use our possessions affects their availability for acts of compassion. If we choose luxury, if we stockpile, or if we guard what we have as if to ensure having it in perfect condition for years to come, we will not want to use our possessions to help those who might consume or soil what we have. The choice to use personal property for the benefit of others must be made before the opportunity to help arises.

These three areas are the foundational choices, the first choices, the beginning choices which most significantly affect our availability for acting compassionately in time of need. These are the choices which make it possible for us to have the time, energy, and resources to be compassionate, today. Spontaneity has no place in making these choices. Serious thinking, counting the cost, and planning ahead are the stuff which these kinds of choices are made of.

If these choices are not made on the basis of love before crisis strikes, we will be far less likely to act compassionately in time of need. We will not think or say that we do not want to help when the need arises. Rather, we will think and say that we cannot help because of our current limitations. But we must answer whether our limitations are the consequence of having nothing left after loving as we want to be loved or the consequence of having nothing left because we’ve loved ourselves too dearly.

This does not mean we must ease other people's burdens to our own harm. God never asks us to starve so others can eat. What He does ask is that we love others as we want to be loved. So if after meeting our needs we use too much of what is left to gratify our whims and desires, we are selfishly reducing what could be available to help those who are caught off guard by hardship and misfortune.

Second, compassion is an act of reason and common sense. Some catastrophes are the result of people refusing to love their neighbor as themselves.

We see this in countries torn by war between ethnic groups. Many fall victim to the war machine. Yet most of the adult victims are not true victims. They are losers in a war of hatred and vindictiveness. If their side was winning, they’d have the upper hand and the other side would be experiencing the deprivations of war. Therefore, the losers plight is not a tragedy. It is the result of wanting their own way but not having the power to accomplish their selfish goals.

The reasonable, sensible choice of compassion when faced with catastrophe of people’s own making is to place conditions on the help given.

We see this principle demonstrated in God’s dealings with us.

While we were still in deliberate and willful rebellion against God, choosing to sin as if there were no accountability, Christ died for us. He died in our place to rescue us from the power and penalty of sin. Though Christ’s action of compassion is available to everyone, only those who repent and place their faith in God receive its benefits. God wisely placed the conditions of repentance and faith on receiving the benefits of His compassionate action because our deplorable circumstances were of our own foolish making.

Should

God show compassion without conditions, He would rescue us from the dire consequences of our sin but never from our interest in and therefore continued practice of sin. Thus, we would be left in the condition (treasuring certain sins so that we would return to their practice when we deemed necessary)

that got us into our crisis problem in the first place. Being saved from the consequences of our sin - only - frees us to fearlessly go on in the practice of our sin. In other words, conditionless compassion extended to a willful sinner who is in crisis because of willfully doing what he knows is wrong does only enough good to make it safe for him to continue in sin. This much good does more harm than good.

As an attribute of love, compassion will not become a means of making the practice of sin easier or safer. Therefore, compassion uses reason and common sense in examining the plight of people overwhelmed by misfortune. Compassion looks at the immediate need in light of the true need. Then, it chooses a loving response.

Finally, compassion often includes deep feelings and emotions when it sees or hears about human suffering. Great human tragedy should stir deep feelings of pity. Acts of inhumanity should stir deep feelings of grief and righteous indignation. This is a good sign. It indicates we have touched the heart, the trauma, and the misery of those in need as if experiencing it ourselves. However, do not determine the reality of your compassion by the depth of your feelings. The reality of compassion is determined by the reality of action taken to alleviate misfortune and suffering.

True compassion comes from choosing to live according to the principle of love.

It is made possible by the choices we make every day concerning use of time, energy, and resources. It is made applicable by doing what we can to seek the good of those caught in the undertow of misfortune. It is rational and most helpful when given according to true need, not felt need or immediate need. Therefore, true compassion is a way of life whereby we not only feel human need when misfortune strikes but are prepared as a result of prior and wise choices to do something about it.

Love Is Just

As an attribute of love, justice compels us to deal with each individual in a manner which is fair to both the individual and the community.

When a father sends his child to her room for pestering other family members, he is taking away her freedom and the privilege of participating in what the family is doing. He is forcing her to experience the discomfort of loneliness.

Often the child believes this to be unfair because she thinks she is being punished more severely than she deserves. Yet the family feels fairness would have sent her to her room thirty minutes earlier. They believe it is unfair that they should have to endure her aggravating behavior for more than a few seconds. So what is fair in this situation?

It is fair for the family to be protected from the obnoxious and frustrating behavior of one of its members. But it is unfair to expect a child to act like a responsible, thoughtful, caring adult. Children need to be taught how to behave.

Therefore, punishment which protects the family but neglects the training of the wayward child is unfair to the child. In like manner, any response (from silent tolerance or unsupported threats) which allows the child to continue misbehaving is unfair to the family. Love searches for a way to discipline the child in a manner which provides training while protecting the family, as much as possible, from the child’s misbehavior.

Therefore, a fair response might begin with a warning to the child that if the behavior persists she will be sent to her room. If she persists, she is sent to her room until she decides she can return to the family and behave in a proper manner. At this point she is the one deciding how long she will be in her room. If she rejoins the family but continues misbehaving, she is sent to her room for five or more minutes. If she persists after that, she is sent to her room for twenty to thirty minutes. If she persists after that, she is sent to her room for the rest of the evening.

This response teaches the child the difference between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. It teaches the child the importance of doing her part to make family time quality time for everyone. It gives the child the opportunity to work on controlling her own behavior. It teaches that child that she must want to work at controlling her behavior if she is to take working on it seriously. It teaches the child that failure, when not fatal, can be met with renewed efforts to do better. And it teaches the child that discipline can be fair to the one being disciplined as well as those being protected from the one needing to be disciplined.

This response also teaches the family a few things. First, it teaches the family that when the misbehavior of one negatively effects the rest of the family, it is best for all involved for the family to bear some discomfort in order to patiently, yet persistently work with the misbehaving child. Second, it teaches the family that those in authority have a responsibility to promote and protect the good of the family even as they work for the good of each individual member. Third, it teaches each family member that the good of the community is more important than the immediate happiness of the individual, especially when the individual is misbehaving.

Truly, freedom to do as one pleases is not necessarily fair. In fact, when selfishly exercised it leads to license which directly results in injustice. Yet in the same way, protection from what one does not like is not necessarily fair. When selfishly exercised, it enslaves others to our likes and dislikes, which is just another form of injustice.

Therefore, love determines what is fair for the individual in light of what is fair for the community. In like manner, love determines what is fair for the community in light of what is fair for the individual.

Love is just toward the individual and the community in a manner which promotes and protects the good of both. For example, love does not make the community suffer just so a criminal can have his freedom. Love does not make non-drinkers suffer just so people can drink and drive. Love does not make one ethnic group suffer just so another ethnic group can keep the best for themselves. No race of people should be treated as inferior just so another race can maintain a position of superiority.

Love does not make divorce easy when its victims are primarily defenseless children. The government should not allow the careless disposal of garbage (burning, burying in the ground, dumping in the ocean) for the sake of financial expediency. Those who need work should not be put out of work or asked to work for wages that cannot support them just so the public can buy more goods and services at lower prices.

Love is just. Many people do not understand this aspect of love. Some don’t understand it because they care more about themselves, their family, and their special interest groups than the good of the community. Others don’t understand it because they care more about keeping people happy (possibly to gain acceptance or avoid conflict)

than holding themselves and others to love’s standard of justice. In either case, what is sought is favoritism under the pretense of love and justice. True justice is always exercised within the boundaries of true love. It promotes and protects the good of the individual while at the same time promoting and protecting the good of all.

Love Is Unbiased

Love shows no partiality. It seeks everyone's highest good. Love looks out for the well-being of family members as well as the good of strangers. It seeks the good of friends and the good of enemies. It promotes and protects the welfare of those who hate and hurt us as well as those who like us and help us. Love is good to those who make us feel comfortable and safe and to those we would rather avoid. Love seeks the good of all by keeping the interests of self, family, friends, enemies, neighbors, co-workers, local community members, the nation, and foreign nations in harmony so no one is benefitted at another’s expense.

Love shows no partiality. Why? Things like favoritism and prejudice are extensions of self-centeredness and the enemies of community-mindedness. They work on the same principle as selfishness – promoting or protecting the good of one or some at the expense of others. They draw their power from inequity and injustice. And they are built on the belief that I, we, or our group are more important than you and your group; our happiness is more important than your happiness; our well-being is more important than your well-being; and therefore it is justifiable to fulfill and even gratify our interests at your expense.

This is not the way of love. Love is committed to promoting and protecting the good of everyone affected in any way by whatever it says or does.

Therefore, love knows no color, no creed, no nationality, and no gender. It cannot favor the good of one person over the good of another. It will not do for one if it requires the deliberate neglect of another. It always seeks what is best for the individual within the context of what is best for all. Love is unbiased. (Note: Luke 6:27-36)

Love Courageously and Uncompromisingly

Opposes Sin

Sin

(selfishness fed by distrust of God and pride) is the ultimate evil. Love is the ultimate good. Sin is the only enemy of love. Love – exampled and empowered by God

– is the ultimate enemy of selfishness and the ultimate weapon for overcoming evil with good. (Note: Romans 10:13)

There is nothing in all creation more heinous, and which brutalizes more people, damages more relationships, ruins more families, causes more suffering, does more harm, brings more sadness, and wrecks more lives than sin. There is nothing in all creation which is more noble, promotes and protects the good of more people, builds more lasting relationships, repairs more damaged relationships, stabilizes more families, makes life and relationships more secure, brings more joy, and satisfies more completely than love.

Only where love is the ruling principle, the supreme motive, and the constant practice are those within its sphere of influence assured that they are loved, and that they will be cared for and protected as far as is humanly possible given the circumstances at that time. Truly, love is God’s rich, rational, eternally perfect answer to Satan’s cheap, delusionary, incrementally disastrous, and self-destructive life of self-centeredness.

Therefore, love deliberately and zealously takes a courageous and uncompromising stand in its opposition to sin and all that sin wishes to do. Love thoughtfully, respectfully, straightforwardly, and zealously opposes government policies, high court decisions, social customs, popular practices, business practices, buying habits, ideas about marriage and divorce, beliefs about homosexuality and adultery, educational practices, religious rituals, radio and television shows, government officials, religious leaders, businessmen, union workers, co-workers, neighbors, friends, fellow church members, family members, and anything or anyone else who promotes or practices self-centeredness in any of its sinful forms. Love opposes such things and people because they are a threat to all that is good, which in turn is a threat to the good of all.

When lovingly oppose sin and the sinner our purpose is not to put the sinner in his place, or flaunt our rightness, or control other peoples’

behavior according to our beliefs. The purpose of such action is to promote and protect the well-being of everyone affected in any way by the sin and the sinner we are opposing. Our goal is to convince the sinner he cannot continue in his sin without compounding his own problems and causing others to suffer unnecessarily. Our goal is to call the sinner to repentance, to a healthy sense of community, and to the practice of love. Should the sinner continue, our goal is to stand in the way and act as a defender of the people who are being unjustly and unnecessarily harmed.

Generally speaking, opposing sin and sinners is not the kind of activity which endears you to sinners. Indeed, more often than not you will be told it is none of your business, shunned, rejected, despised, hated, treated with hostility, and if that is not enough to stop you, persecuted. Sinners, in or out of the church, are not bothered by love’s convictions as long as you do not confront or expose their selfishness. Their resistance begins when they see you are undeniably aware of their wrong behavior and are asking them to do what is right. Rather than repenting, many will resort to almost anything in an effort to persuade you to leave them alone.

When children are younger it is not uncommon for them to act irritated and abused or mutter angry words under their breath when a parent or another authority is resisting their effort to sin. They chose such a response in an effort to get their way. They are trying to convince the authority to back off so they can do what they want even though what they want to do is wrong and hurtful to others.

Too often, adults are no different than children in their desire to continue unhindered in their sin. The difference is adults can do more damage in their efforts to stop you from exposing and resisting their sinfulness. Any book about Christian martyrs verifies this.

As long as a person wants to continue unhindered in his sin, he will be angry at you and in some way retaliate against you should you expose his selfishness and ask him to put an end to his sinfulness. So don’t be surprised when you are on the receiving end of anger and retaliation when acting in love to protect the victims of sin by opposing the one practicing the sin. But don’t let this deter you either. There can be no lasting happiness, no enduring peace, no true security, no mutual trust, no abundant life, and no fulfilling relationships in the home or in the community or in the church or in the nation or in the world when sin is allowed to be practiced freely.

Christian love is committed to bringing light into the darkness so the well-being of others can be promoted and protected. To close your eyes to sin is to abandon the family, the community, the church, the nation, and the world. It is like setting them adrift in the sea of heartache, suffering, and destruction. Therefore, for the Christian, opposition to sin and sinners begins within the home, includes the

Church, and moves from there into the world. We must courageously and uncompromisingly deal with sin and sinners in the home and in the church if we are to credibly and ethically deal with sin and sinners in the world. If you love as you want to be loved, you will oppose sin and sinner wherever they are found. (Note: I Corinthians 5:9-13)

Love Disciplines Those Who Need It

Discipline is as much an expression of love as is mercy and kindness and forgiveness. In promoting and protecting the good of all, discipline has three primary goals.

First, discipline strives to educate and train for the purpose of godly living. Young people need to be taught what is right and what is wrong. And, they need to be taught why right is right and wrong is wrong. This kind of instruction is the educational part of discipline. As we grow older, life becomes more complicated and we encounter situations where it is hard to discern what is right or wrong. In the Church, those who are older and wiser are to instruct those who need to know about the more subtle distinctions between good and evil. This is the discipleship part of discipline. Sometimes adults know what is right but need to be taught the practical side of applying what they know to their situation. They need the “how to”

part of discipline. Then there are those who know what is right but are being strongly tempted to do what is wrong. They need to be reminded, encouraged, challenged, and helped to do what they know is right. This is the “bear one another’s burdens” part of discipline.

Second, discipline applies correction and then punishment to those who know what is right but deliberately, flagrantly, and repeatedly do what is wrong.

Correction goes beyond instruction by including an unwanted, uncomfortable, personally costly consequence intended to get the attention of the wrongdoer. Its purpose is to convince the wrongdoer that his sinful behavior is unacceptable and must be stopped. Correction is why parents take away a disobedient child’s television privileges for a time, why loan agencies attach late charges to overdue bills, and why judges fine first-time misdemeanor offenders instead of sending them to jail.

When correction does not bring about the necessary change of behavior, the final step is punishment. Punishment can help the learning process, but its primary function is to protect. Sinners who know what is right, who have been sufficiently warned to do what is right, yet who willfully persist in doing what they know is wrong must be removed from their social group for the protection of anyone who might be victimized by their sin. Parents do this when they send a stubbornly disobedient child to his room so the rest of the family can enjoy a time of peace. Judges do this when they put hardened criminals in prison for life. God will do this when He sends unrepentant sinners to hell.

Punishment’s intention is not to teach good behavior to the determined sinner, but to protect everyone else from further suffering and destruction at the sinner’s hands.

Third, discipline uses correction and punishment of willfully persistent sinners to convince others in the community not to practice sin. When the

Israelites first entered the Promised Land, they defeated the huge walled city of Jericho. The next city that stood in their way was Ai. It was a small town with small walls and little else to worry about in comparison to Jericho. Yet at the battle of Ai, the Israelites were soundly defeated. Their soldiers were routed in full retreat and some were killed as they ran back to the security of the Israelite camp. When the Israelites asked

God why, He said this defeat was the result of one man's sin.

One

Israelite soldier had taken booty from Jericho in deliberate disobedience of

God, who had said to take nothing. The man was Achan. He took a robe, silver coins, and a gold bar. Now we may think that what Achan did was not so bad since we see people all around us doing things which are far worse. Yet Achan deliberately disobeyed

God – his king and the one whom all Israel needed to obey if they were to be empowered by Him to safely and victoriously settle the Promised Land. Therefore,

Achan’s sin was a great sin in light of all affected by it. And so, in response to

Achan's willing disobedience,

God had him, his family, and all he possessed destroyed in the presence of all Israel.

This is the “deter others from sinning” part of discipline and punishment.

Many think God was cruel and unloving when He demanded the destruction of

Achan, his family, and all his possessions. They wonder how a loving

God could do such an unloving deed.

If

Achan’s good and his family’s good were the only or most important good, then

God could be considered cruel. If the good of everyone affected by

Achan’s actions was just as important as Achan’s good, then God’s response was love’s response.

Indeed,

Achan was not the most important person in Israel. His family was not the only important family. Their good did not transcend the good of the others. The well-being of every Israelite was of equal concern to God

– as it should be.

God knew the Israelites would face many temptations to sin. He knew each person’s sin would cause others to suffer unjustly and unnecessarily. He knew that sinners influenced others to sin, and the compound effect of many sinners deliberately sinning would be the ruination of the Israelite people and their nation.

Therefore, it was important that God send a clear message to every Israelite concerning disobedience and sin. Their well-being depended on them knowing and believing that unbelief and selfishness were the most foolish and destructive choices they could make. The good of every Israelite depended on each one being convinced sin was in all cases the worst choice.

Consider, if God took Achan’s sin lightly, so would the rest of Israel.

If Israel took

Achan’s sin lightly it wouldn’t be long before most

Israelites would disregard what God said and do as they pleased when they pleased. If they believed the cost of disobedience was of little consequence, many would choose to act selfishly whenever it served their purposes. If there was nothing to deter them, their sinfulness would grow until it devoured their nation and ruined their own lives. When viewed from this perspective, what God did was not only just, it was exceedingly loving toward all of those involved.

When we love others as we want to be loved, we discipline sinners for their sake and the sake of all who are unnecessarily affected by their sin

– be it in the home, the

Church, the school, the workplace, the community, the nation, or the world. Therefore, the general intention of discipline is to instruct, correct, punish, and convince others to flee every temptation to sin. Instruction and correction show the unlearned and first offenders the right way. Punishment protects the victims of sinners from further suffering at the hands of sinners. And correction and punishment encourage the impressionable and teachable to remain faithful to doing what they know is right. All in all, discipline lovingly promotes and protects the good of all.

Love Is Gracious

Grace is love doing good to those who deserve the opposite of the good being done for them. Grace reaches out to those who through foolishness and sinfulness have placed themselves in a situation of need which exceeds their own ability and resources to remedy.

They are in trouble, sometimes in big trouble, and its of their own making. They need help, expensive help, and they are helpless to help themselves. Grace takes place when someone with the ability to pay the high cost of remedying the problem willingly steps forward and pays the price himself.

We see this when families on small, fixed incomes spend money on what they want instead of what they need. Then when they haven’t enough money to pay their utility bills (natural gas, electricity, water), something they need gets shut off. When one or more of their utilities gets shut off they are in dire need. Yet their need has been created by their own foolish choices. If someone steps up and pays the bills so shut-off utilities can be restored, it is love doing good when good is not deserved.

If a businessman misuses credit in an effort to build his business, he may end up owing more than he can pay. To repay his debts his creditors may take what he owns.

If they take so much he cannot adequately provide for his family, he and his family will be in a condition of great need. Yet their need is not the result of misfortune but of his own foolishness. Should someone help them by providing food, clothing, and shelter, it is love doing good when good is not deserved.

If one allows oneself to become deeply bitter over some personal loss, her bitterness may turn into bouts of depression. She may lose sleep, weight, and friends. Such a person has a great need for wise counsel and friendship, yet her need is the consequence of her own sinful choices. Love sees the need and tries to find a way to do what it can, at its own expense, to give the help required to alleviate the need.

God is the first and foremost giver of grace to needy sinners whose need is of their own making. Indeed, we are those needy sinners. We are under the penalty of sin and enslaved to the practice of sin because we have rejected God's truth for Satan's lies. Being dead in our sin we are separated from God and doomed to eternal banishment in Hell, all as a result of our own doing. But if we repent of sin and trust in

God for salvation from the power and penalty of sin, we will experience God’s loving grace in paying the penalty for sin on our behalf. We don’t deserve this kind of help. It is a terrible thing that we have put the One who loves perfectly in the place of having to pay such a high price to give us the help we need. Yet He has, and willingly so. To accept such grace and not be gracious is sad proof we know nothing about love.

However, we must be careful not to take grace beyond the motive and goal of love.

When exercised within the boundaries of love, grace always includes conditions. To pay a family's utility bills once without being concerned as to why they had gone unpaid is a reasonable expression of love to a family in need. If it happens again and we discover the reason for the unpaid bills is their own foolish and selfish spending habits, we could be gracious and pay them again. Yet to continue paying them without bringing conditions into the picture is to move outside the boundaries of love.

Unconditional kindness masquerading as grace allows the family to continue living foolishly and selfishly to their own hurt and the hurt of those whose legitimate needs go unmet because of what is being given to this family.

Grace is never to be a means for covering up sin or making it safe to continue in sin. To fit into the broader context of love, grace helps those who do not deserve help while making certain it is not a means for sin to continue unchecked.

Therefore, conditions or limits placed on grace make grace no less grace, just grace being exercised within the boundaries of love.

Love Finds Ways To Express Itself

Love is so driven to promote and protect the good of others it exhausts all available means before admitting it has gone as far as it can.

Most often there is more than one means or option available for dealing with a particular situation. We may not know the best means of promoting or protecting the good of others in a particular situation, but we can pick the one which gets us as close as possible to what we think is best. The available options will not always take us to our goal or allow us to complete the task we want to accomplish. Yet we can use what is available to bring us closer to what we want while looking for more options along the way. When we come to the end of what we see as available means to seek the good of another but still believe there is more that could be done, we can pray for more wisdom and ask someone wiser and more experienced to show us options we have overlooked or do not know exist.

It has been said, “Where there is a will, there is a way.” It can also be said, “Where there is love, love will find a way.” God has so created us that we are able to find means for getting to a desired end if the desired end is possible and we genuinely want to get there. But if we lack the ‘want’ to love we won’t put much effort into finding the

‘means’

to love.

Thankfully, we are not left to human ability alone when it comes to finding good options and making right choices for love. God said that if we lack wisdom we only need ask Him for it and He will give it. By His gracious giving of wisdom, we can overcome the perceived limitations on love and find new and better ways to care about others.

So, keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking on God’s door. He will give you all the wisdom you need to love as He loves in every situation and with every individual.

Love Never Fails

Love never fails because love never ceases to be love. It has only one goal, one intention, one purpose, one great end toward which it is working

– the greatest good of God and the well-being of all mankind. If there is a failure because selfishness transcends love, it is not the fault of love. It is our fault. It is our fault for choosing the good of self over the good of everyone affected by our self-seeking.

In helping church people settle their conflicts I have found that all of them begin the process professing their commitment to pursue Biblically-based reconciliation with the other party. They willingly agree to a process that not only resolves their differences, but seeks to restore and even improve their relationship. Yet when it comes to actually doing the work of resolving the dispute and reconciling the relationship, too many only want to settle the dispute. They don’t want to restore the relationship. They’ll agree to forgive and forget but they don’t want to be friends. They don’t even want to socialize.

They just want to settle their differences and go their separate ways.

Has love failed?

No! What has failed are the two people in conflict. They tried to play the game of love only to expose the fact that they haven’t got the heart for it.

Those who live in all white communities often believe they are doing what is best for their families and the community by keeping minorities out. Yet to keep minorities out, they must oppose what is best for those being intentionally excluded. What these whites call love is not love at all because it serves the interests of some at the expense and harm of others. Has love failed? No! What has failed are the people who selfishly pursue happiness and security at the expense of others.

U.S.

congressmen are entrusted with promoting and protecting the good of the citizens in their state while seeking the good of the entire nation. If they secure financial support from the U.S. government for some project in their state which provides good jobs for a few people but nothing of true value for the state or the nation, they are not acting in love. They may be doing something good for a select few, but they are also taking money which could be used for the good of many and squandering on a select few. Has love failed? No! In this case, it is most likely the self-centered congressman who failed in that he was willing to do whatever it takes to get re-elected, including benefitting voters in his state at the expense of taxpayers in other states.

Profit is a motivating and rewarding part of doing business. It is important for businesses to make enough profit to remain in business and compensate owners for their efforts. But when profit becomes more important than the welfare of the employees and/or the customers, something is wrong. Yet many businesses are willing to protect and increase profits at the expense of people’s jobs or fair compensation for work rendered or quality of products. It is all to common for businessmen to put fellow citizens out of work in order to hire cheaper labor in other countries – paying the cheaper help what they themselves would not work for and could not live on. It is also common for businesses to cheapen the quality of products while increasing the cost. Has love failed? No! The problem is greed.

Fair pay for good work is as right as reasonable profit for good investment.

Yet labor unions often demand higher pay and better benefits without increasing the quality and quantity of their work. In fact, they not only make it difficult for business to fire irresponsible and slothful workers, they demand equal pay for good and bad workers alike. Such behavior shows no concern for the owner’s right to profit and the purchaser’s right to a quality product at a fair price. Has love failed? No! The problem is greed.

As

Americans, we want to accumulate material goods to the point of compelling businesses to cut every cost possible so we can buy more things with the money we have.

This motivates businesses to resort to the kind of cost cutting which includes the loss of jobs, unsafe working conditions, temporary help in full-time positions, and low pay scales. It compels businesses to turn to job markets in poorer countries where the pay scale is a tenth or less of what it is here. And whose good are we seeking when we, the consumer, push businesses to these measures? Our own! We want the

American dream to be a reality for ourselves without caring about the living conditions in the rest of the world.

We

Christians need only take a thoughtful look at our society to see this kind of selfishness at work each day in many more areas than just mentioned. If we do not speak against it and resist being party to it, we know nothing about love.

Love, in all ways and in all things seeks the good of everyone affected by what it does.

Self-centeredness cannot act any other way than selfishly. If it tries to seek the good of others it does so only as long as its interests are assured. In the same way, love cannot act any other way than lovingly. It seeks the good of others because it wants the good of others – at least as much as it wants the good of self.

What is the great goal, the driving motive, the most compelling purpose of your life? What is the ultimate intention of your choices and behavior? An honest examination of the short-term and long-term results of your behavior will give you the answer. If loving God supremely and your neighbor as yourself is not your primary goal, then your goal is to love yourself, first and only. If love is your great goal, driving motive, and most compelling purpose, you may make mistakes along the way but you will be numbered among those who love as God loves. And this love will never fail because it is always and only love.

In Summary

Love is the fullest, most complete expression of Christianity. Love is the sum total of all our obligations to God, our families, co-workers, friends, neighbors, community, and the world. It is the only means by which we can rationally and sensibly promote and protect the good of everyone, including God’s purposes and reputation. Love is the sum of all and fulfills all God asks of us because love does no harm to anyone. (Note:

Romans 13:10)

Is your heart set on love? Christian love? Love which seeks the good of everyone affected in any way by your choices and behavior? If it is not, go to

God and ask Him to so work in you that love will be your motive and goal in all things.

If you love, but know there could be significant improvement concerning this matter of love, go to God and ask Him to teach you more about love and how to practice love in the daily affairs of life.

If you simply want to continue growing and maturing in this area of love, make this too an issue of fervent prayer. Pray, giving God no rest until you are certain your heart is full of love and the wisdom necessary to apply love to all the circumstances of your life. Pray without ceasing, until all your thoughts and desires and choices are ruled by love. Pray fervently, until all your words and deeds are vehicles of love. But be sure to support your prayers with decisions that remove all distractions and involve you in those things that build, encourage, and support Christian love.

Love is such a valuable treasure that it is worth selling all to have.

Pursue it today with all your heart. You will never be disappointed or regret you did.

Epilogue

No Other Foundation

What is in this book has nothing to do with being super-spiritual. The things written here relate to the basics, the foundational building blocks, the first-steps of Christianity. Start here and you will grow to understand the deep things of God. Then you will know that the joy in understanding God’s deepest things comes not from knowing about them but in putting them into practice, whole-life, life-long.

As a mirror reflects the image of your face, so your choices and behavior reflect the image of your heart. Take a long, honest look, and you will see what you believe, who you love, what you want, where you are going, and why you are going there.

May the Lord be your life, and His Word your joy. May you trust God as completely as you know how. May you be so secure in God’s love that you deliberately and eagerly die to self and live unto Him.

May shared relationships of love and trust be as precious to you as they are to God. May your Christianity be whole-life and life-long. And may your life affect the world just as powerfully as God’s gift of life affects your eternal destiny.

Table of Contents

- Prologue

- Book 1 Chapter One No Other Reason

- Book 1 Chapter Two Knowing What's Right, Doing What's Wrong.

- Book 1 Chapter Three The Root of Sin Is Unbelief

- Book 1 Chapter Four The Lifeblood of Sin Is Pride-Driven Selfishness

- Book 1 Chapter Five Sin Gains Control Through Our Feelings

- Book 1 Chapter Six A Loving God's Just Punishment for Sin

- Book 1 Chapter Seven Justice and Justification

- Book 1 Chapter Eight Understanding
- Book 2 Chapter One A Place to Begin
- Book 2 Chapter Two Repentance
- Book 2 Chapter Three Faith

- Book 2 Chapter Four Deliverance from the Power and Practice of Sin

- Book 2 Chapter Five Defining the Sanctifying Process

- Book 2 Chapter Six The Promises of God for Sanctification

- Book 2 Chapter Seven The Christian's Responsibility in Sanctification

- Book 2 Chapter Eight God's Love
- Book 2 Chapter Nine Christian Love
- Prologue